Path of the Jester: Inner Demons
by Jokerlady
Summary: The Joker has tried every crazy plan to destroy the Bat without success...what happens if he decides to try a sane scheme. The catch...If you want to recover your sanity, sometimes you have to visit dark, places in your own mind. Joker origin...my view.
1. Epiphany

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

_**Author's Note**: Hello everybody. This is my first story, and it's actually a complete novel which I am offereing the first few chatpters for your enjoyment. Be warned. This might not be a regular treatment of tha known characterr...Joker...but believe me, I love the character and tried to do my best to treat him with respect. Second: English is my second language and even though I've tried to check the grammar thoroughly, you might still find some syntatic blunders. MY APOLOGIES FOR THAT. Please feed back me witha all ideas, opinions and corrections so I can learn from my mistakes._

_Disclaimer 1: I don't own Batman or any of its related characters. They are all property of DC COMICS and are used here for the sole purpose of entertainment. The only character I own is Michael Garibaldi so hope you guys like him and if you ever use him in any story, please treat him with respect._

_Disclaimer 2: Crime is not a pretty profession and Joker is not a saint, so sometimes throughout the story, you will find that there was a need for MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. so use your discretion when reading. Some things might not be suitable for very young readers. _

_That said, please enjoy these chapters..._

(**IMPORTANT NOTICE.** _BECAUSE YOU GUYS DESERVE BETTER QUALITY STORY AND SOME OF YOU REQUESTED IT, I GOT MYSELF A BETA READER. SO PLEASE WELCOME WITH A ROUND OF APPLAUSE THE INCREDIBLE...ONE AND ONLY...KICHI...(crowd goes wild). SHE IS GOING TO JOIN ME IN THIS RIDE...NOW...ENJOY...)_

**Chapter 1: EPIPHANY**

The grinning man was sitting at the old wooden table, holding a cigarette in his right hand while attempting to clip some newspaper headlines from the Gotham Gazette on his escape from the Asylum.

"The secret is to stay inside the lines," mumbled the pale figure between giggles trying to neatly trim the edges of the picture he was cutting. "…and outside your cell." Satisfied with his handiwork, he set the picture on a pile on the right hand corner of the desk, and looked through the cracked window pane towards the street. Outside the streetlights timidly quivered in the darkness of the alley and the whistle from the cargo train cut the silence of the night like a dagger, and for this man it was an image that made him smile with glee.

He grabbed his scissors and stabbed the right hand corner of the desk making a deep dent. Four dents preceded that one. Five days and all clear since the day he had abandoned his acrylic cage in Arkham. A new day was starting now…

"Midnight. Good night for hunting bats." he said leaning over the table and resting his long chin on one of his hand while his eyes narrowed as if he was half asleep. "I hope it's not Monday, I hate Mondays."

His hair looked wild and unkempt with long green locks falling in front of his eyes and his face started to show beard stubble of the same green hue against an unnaturally pale complexion. He still wore one of the inmates orange shirts, which he had carefully cut in the front to make it look more like a jacket open exposing his ghostly white chest. There had been little time for anything else. The GCPD was too close on his trail to go shopping for new clothes.

"Bring in the clowns, the killer clowns," said the ghastly figure as he waved his hand high above his head, "because Joker is here." A loud burst of laughter filled the room, a shrilling noise that could make a heart skip a beat or two. "Where are my marbles?" Joker said as he rose from his chair, picked a cigarette from the ashtray on the desk and started to pace the room as if searching for something. "Don't tell me I lost my marbles...

He laughed loudly again and sighed at the sight of disarray the room was with the bed unmade, the floor littered with wrappings, ash, and scattered paper clippings. His cell in Arkham was cleaner than this pigsty and the days of inaction had made him a slob. He was still grinning, like he always did, but there was nothing happy about this grin and his laughter was unnatural, forced. Truth be told, he was bored to death.

Death.

Now, THAT was something that always brought a wide smile to his face, especially when he was the direct cause of it. The grinning man sighed deeply and took a long puff in his cigarette. The smoke escaped through his nostrils like vapor in a chilly winter night. He'd always loved the crimson color of blood, just like his lips. And rigor mortis was for him as beautiful as the large smile on his face. There was no substitute for the unique artistry of a bullet well placed in someone's head. That took talent and he was a very talented man. He giggled maliciously as he sat on the bed which creaked loudly under his weight.

It had been a few days since he had seen someone die or killed someone and he missed all the fun. He took another puff and remembered the dissertations he had offered the psychiatrists at Arkham about the strong resemblance of 20th century postmodern art and the blood patterns left behind after he blew off the attorney general's head in the Gotham Botanical Gardens. Ah, that was a work of art but those idiots at the asylum weren't able to grasp the concept of beauty behind it. They had called it murder, but he preferred to call it divine inspiration. Unappreciative nincompoops.

"Critics, it's always the critics who sweep the floor with your work." He said with a cackle as he flicked the cigarette over the ashtray on the table. "Oh, the tragedy of the common man… they don't understand my genius." The Joker said with melancholy in his voice when he remembered his latest escape from the asylum. That one was another story that almost ended in tragedy. It would have been the greatest blunder of his entire career if that minute amount of venom he had a chance to concoct at the hospital wouldn't have worked its magic on the security guards at the last minute. Better late than never, he thought, but God that was close!

"That's what happens when you buy cheap cleaning products, my dear Dr. Arkham," he said giggling. "Next time let me do the shopping for you." He laughed loudly and the walls resonated with his cackles. Enough wandering around," he said. "Lets get our hands bloody, shall we?—he drew on his cigarette once more. " I need to…"

Hide.

The door creaked behind him and after putting his cigarette away, he rose swiftly tiptoeing to the wall by the door frame. His naked feet making no sound on the carpeted floor. The door opened and a round spectacled face popped into the room. Joker pulled a large army knife from one of the sleeves of his shirt. The face seemed to look around looking for something but did not see the grinning figure holding the large army knife by the door. The head was followed by a plump neck and then by a thickset body that was holding something big in and bulky in his hands.

The man in the shadows kicked the intruder in the groin, and the large object fell to the ground. With a swift move, he pushed the spectacled man against the door frame and placed the army knife firmly against his neck. The grinning man now giggled, he was thrilled with this little game. He felt like a hunter about to strike its prey; a mad hyena about to …

"B-boss?" The figure called softly, his eyes opened wide, pupils dilated. "It's m-me… Michael. Blip. D-Don't y-you recognize m-m-me?"

"If-you-ever creep up on me again, Blip, I'm gonna slice your head off and rip your heart out, is that clear?" His mouth showed a twisted smirk as he let go of the young man. "Didn't your mother teach you to knock before entering?"

"S-sorry boss. I thought y-you might've been asleep or somethin'."

"Sleep like this?" The grinning man waved his arms as if doing some type of demonstration. "You must be kidding me. The Joker can't sleep in a dump like this."

"I know you are not used to this, but it's only temporary until everything calms down. The entire GCPD is still searching for you, sir."

"Calm down, my ass! No pool, no cable, no continental breakfast, and no tours? I'm just gonna to have to kill your travel agent, Blip." Joker said with the army knife dancing happily in his hand. He advanced towards Michael, grinning evilly. "Oh what the hell, I'll kill you too."

"W-What?" answered Blip backing into the wall.

Joker busted in explosive laughter, and Blip could not help but jump backwards. That made the Joker laugh even harder. Joker always succeeded in getting little, chubby Blip off guard every time. It took a moment for him to regain enough composure to be able to speak; his eyes had welled with tears.

"Jeez, can't you take a joke? I'm just messing with you, Blip." Joker sighed. "Now back to my world. I'm bored, did you bring what I asked you?"

"Sure b-boss," said Blip forcing a faint smile as he picked up the bag and contents from the floor in the living room and settled them on the coffee table. Joker followed, hands clasped behind him. Michael pulled the Gotham Gazette and a Looney Toons comic book and settled them down by him while he continued searching the bag. He set all the contents on the table as he took them out of the bag

"I brought you a razor, shaving cream, cigarettes, your special .38J with some ammunition, marble grenades, and some more of your gags. Hey, and look," said Blip pointing to the small chair in the corner of the living room where a neat bundle of yellow, green and purple clothes laid. Joker's eyes followed the pointing fingers. "I was even able to get one of your outfits from the old warehouse."

Joker walked over and grabbed his gun. His chromed .38J, the Joker especial as he liked to call it, was one his proudest creations. It had a green malachite handle with a large engraved letter J on both sides. He pushed a small button on the back of the gun and pulled the trigger. The gun immediately popped a metallic spear displaying a yellow banner with the word BANG in bright blood red letters! Joker smiled wide and pushed the spear back into the gun. He checked the chamber and confirmed that six bullets were loaded. He put the gun back on its holster and went to grab the Gazette when noticed the comic book on top of the newspaper. He grabbed the comic and started to sift through its pages.

Blip smiled. "Ha, I love that Daffy Duck, always trying to annoy the hell out of Bugs, don't you think it's a classic, boss?" Joker gave him a quizzical look, cocked an eyebrow and in a quick motion shredded the comic in itsy bitsy pieces and threw them over Blip like a rain of confetti.

"Why do you need a Daffy Duck when you have a Daffy Me?" He grabbed the Gazette and let himself fall heavily onto the futon. A chain of giggles followed, transforming into a chortle. "That's all, folks! Did you find my little notebook?"

"There was not much left of it sir." Blip said dryly, dusting the pieces of paper from him and setting two sandwiches and two bottles of water on the table. "It must have been burned when the Batman set fire to…" Blip heard a thud and something warm and wet hit him in the lower half of the face startling him. Next thing he knew he was wearing a bacon double cheeseburger all fixings on his shirt and between his legs (and too close for comfort) Joker's Army knife had embedded into the chair.

"Don't-you-ever say that name again in my presence. Next time…well, I'll aim for something vital." In front of him the Joker face glared furiously, his eyes blackened by the shadows of his frowning brow, the smile just a dark sneer. Blip's mouth opened to utter an apology but said nothing at all. It was not healthy to try the boss's temper with the wrong selection of words. Joker softened and a broad smile split his face. "Oh, well, I'll just have to start a new diary. Dr. Arkham told me that it can help me to vent things out, you know. To sort some in things here." He laughed, while pointing to his head with a circular motion signaling the movement of a wheel. "You will need to get me a new notebook next time you go out."

"G-got it s-sir, new notebook." said Blip removing the knife and starting to clean his stained shirt.

The Joker took a quick look at the newspaper and his face filled with glee. "Well look at this headline. FIVE DAYS OUT OF ARKHAM AND NO LEADS ON JOKER'S WHEREABOUTS… POLICE ON MANIAC'S TRAIL… Now, isn't that lovely? Five days and I still make the front page of the Gazette. Gotham city just loves me."

"Yep! And they are going to love you even more when we get back in business." Blip replied taking sip of his water bottle.

Joker gave him another one of those looks. His eyes were on fire, while the paleness of his skin went down several hues "We? This is my city, Blip. MY stage. There is no 'we'. There is only ME. It's all about ME!"

Blip swallowed hard. "That's what I meant, boss, when YOU make the great come back". Joker nodded and smiled. He grabbed his bottle of water and took a long sip. That felt nice. Fresh, clean, cold water was a luxury.

"Have you contacted the rest of the crew lately, kid?" Asked the Joker eyeing the front page where a large picture of himself in full color smiled back at him.

"Almost everybody is accounted for. Four died at hands of the police during the last… incident. There are seven in prison but I have not heard anything from Phil and his gang."

Joker made a disgruntling sound and lowered the newspaper. "How many are we left with?"

"Counting us… and the Terrance gang." Blip swallowed hard "… about ten. But they are all awaiting your orders." "Hm…I hardly have enough for a baseball team...not enough. I need to hire a few times that before I'm ready. You are my PR man, Blip, and you need to learn to think big, like me. Get the word around. I'm back in town and I have some "job openings" to offer because the show must go on. We need muscle and cannon fodder, the works, for an awesome performance in this city. Can you take care of the hiring?"

"I would prefer to just wait a little longer, if you do not mind? I have intercepted some police communications and you are still a hot item. Even you-know-who is after you."

"You are such a cream puff, Blip. Learn to laugh at the odds, even if those odds dress up as a bat at night. I will have a plan within the next few days and I want to be ready to execute as soon as it is revealed to me. That flying mouse is not going to steal my fun again. " 'Eat your brownies while they are hot,'--my grandma always said," Joker piped imitating the voice of an old person followed by a crazy laughter. Blip nodded and smiled back.


	2. Introduce: Me Part Deux

**CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**

_**Author's note**: Hello again faithful friends...Just dropping a note to let you know that this chapter has been wonderfully beta-ed by the Amazing Kichi. Hopefully it will be easier to read. Enjoy the reading...(3-23-08)_

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer 2: Some MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS might be present so reader discretion is adviced._

**Chapter 2: INTRODUCING: ME, TAKE DEUX**

Once he finished reading the newspaper funnies, Joker headed back to his room leaving Blip to do his computer wizardry in the living room. That boy was probably one of the best computer hackers out there and Jokerwas happy to have him by his side. Not that he could not do the job himself but Blip was one of those guys that could work real magic with a keyboard and a mouse, leaving Joker the time for the creative process. Also, keeping Blip happy was easy. Just get the boy the latest computer toys on the market and a few Franklins and Blip would follow you to the ends of the Earth. He was also easy to mold for his needs, the boy just lacked a personality of his own. And the Joker could read that the kid craved his guidance. He could do no less than oblige.

The Clown Prince closed the door behind him and sat at the desk. He replaced the lamp so that it illuminated the surface and opened the small drawer on the right hand side where he saw a small stack of yellowed paper and a pencil stump. He took one sheet of paper setting it squarely in front of him and sharpened the pencil stump with his Army knife. Joker closed his eyes and felt the energy, his thoughts running at the speed of light. So many things he could do; so little time to do them all. His audience was expecting a masterpiece and he was not going to disappoint them. He bit his tongue softly and hunched over the table. "Time to do an early withdrawal …"

He giggled softly and started to jot down names.

_GOTHAM CENTRAL BANK, FIRST GOTHAM NATIONAL…_ oh, so many choices…

_Get schematics on building and security systems from Blip._

_Load with Joker Juice._

Joker sighed deeply while he let his head rest on top of the table. "No,no, no.

How low can I fall?" He said softly with a sad heavy voice. "Me! Robbing a mere bank, it's unbelievable, unacceptable. Where is the fun in that?"

While still resting on the table he drew a tombstone at the bottom of the page with the inscription: "Here lies Joker, the genius who missed the spotlight, committing small, trivial crimes." then turned the page around.

"Let's try this again, shall we? Who can I blackmail in this town forsome fun?" He started to jot down names.

_MAXIMILLIAN DAVENPORT, banker_

_BRUCE WAYNE, millionaire entrepreneur;_

_DOUGLAS_…

"Wait a minute! Didn't I tried this before and got tackled in the middle of the game? Change of strategy Dan Marino," yelled Joker forcing a cackle. It would have been fun to bring some more Joker Joy to the boring life of the rich and famous but he remembered that kidnapping Davenport was the plan that got him arrested last time. No need to get there again. In the center of the page Joker drew a very large and menacing bat with large horns, fangs and claws, drooling and staring at him with those empty white eyes. Hanging from one of the Bat's leg he drew a tiny screaming baby in diapers with a safety pin in the shape of the letter R holding a black cape around his neck. Under the bat he wrote 'Roses are red, violets are blue, boy blunder and bat-sap, can spoil your fun too.' Joker violently tossed the paper to the floor and grabbed a second sheet. He started writing again.

_I hate bats. I think they are nasty creatures, transmit the rabies, and have no sense of humor. They also have a wonderful uppercut that can really make your head spin…_

_You know, I'll have to admit that the rabies is not that bad because, well, that one can kill you, but I still hate bats. I think it is the worst type of vermin, and I can't understand why people cheer for them. _

"What does he have that I don't?" He said to himself

_...It's not fair. I always do my best to captivate the audience and at the end, what? It's him who steals all my applause. I even dress better than he does for heaven's sake! Why is this overgrown rodent so obsessed with me? Maybe there is something in the genetics of bats that makes them hate funny clowns, and lack any sense of humor. Maybe we should re-engineer bats so they can laugh, maybe we should just neuter him. The last thing we need is a humorless bat reproducing around, don't we?/ Joker paused and sighed deeply, then went on. Did I just say I hate bats? Yes, I think I did, and before I forget, I hate birds too… especially Robins…._

He wrote aggressively. There was lot of energy flowing into each sheet and papers started falling to the floor. One sheet of paper followed the other written on the front, the back, and any blank space available. Words followed diagrams, that gave way to cartoons, then again to words and he quickly ran out of surface to write. He swiftly looked around and saw that just above the bed's headboard was a small clear space. He was inspired and needed to write one more sentence. With a quick movement he jumped on the bed and started scribbling on the wall, but the pencil he had was blunt and too small to sharpen again. He grabbed his Army knife and started scraping the wall. The knock on the door distracted his concentration.

"WHAT?" he yelled. The door opened and Blip's spectacled face came through.

"Brought you the notebook...boss." Blip stopped at the door. The lighting was dim, but there was enough sun entering through the window cracks to figure what was going on. The floor was littered with sheets of paper written all over. Joker was kneeling on the bed panting, his open asylum shirt in disarray. In his hands he was holding the Army knife tightly and there was something carved on the wall behind him:

**I HATE BATS**

"Oh goody, I was in need of that." answered the Joker letting go of the knife, jumping off the bed and taking the notebook from Blip.

"Is everything alright, sir?"

"Peachy, why?" Joker saw Blip shrug and point to the wall. "Just letting the creative juices flow, that's all. Now if you'll excuse me…" He sat down at the table once again opening the notebook on the first page.

"By the way boss, Phil's crew emailed me and is accounted for, so there are about twenty of us still around… and the things they said…" Blip could hear the boss acquiescing softly. "Have not heard from Phil himself though, but I don't think he's gonna show up. Not after whathappened at Davenport's. They are also saying that the bat has been visiting some of your old associates asking for your whereabouts."

"That's to be expected. The Caped Crusader is a persistent detective and is obsessed with me." A sinister laughter could be heard building up while he searched in the desk's drawer frantically." Hmm … Blip do you have something I could write with?"

"Sure," Blip looked at the wall Joker had carved while pulling a pen from his shirt. Joker took it with a wide smile.

"Think for a moment. He corners me, beats the crap out of me, shackles me and throws me in a dungeon. Don't you see a little SM and Bondage pattern there? And don't let me get started on that twisted relationship between him and young Diaper Boy. It's just repulsive. A grown man hiring young wards for some nightly hanky panky… the police should do something about that pedophile."

"Well, haven't thought of it that way," said Blip slowly backing off the room. It was time for the boss to be alone. He was obviously going through a rough time and later he might in a better mood to talk to, because now he was not making much sense. "If you need me I will be in the living room. Need to settle some shipments for Terrence's gang, you know? I bought some coffee and donuts for breakfast. They're in the kitchen."

"Okey Doke. What… breakfast?" Joker asked turning to face Blip with a wide surprised look. "What time is it, Blip?

"Eight-forty-nine... a.m."

"Oh my… time really flies when I'm having fun." Joker started to laugh loudly. Blip smiled and exited the room closing the door behind him. He could even here the maniacal laughter from the other side of the living room. The laughter started to subside after he left the room and he returned to his laptop to complete the details of the next shipment for Terrence's Candy Man.

In the room, Joker was reclining on the chair, tapping the pen on the desk and eyeing the white empty pages of his notebook with a sense of longing when finally the muse hit him. He leaned over and started to write.

_DEAR DIARY_

_JUNE SOMETHING, 2006, 8:49 a.m._

_Life's not easy, even if you are a genius and I'm living proof of that. It doesn't matter what ingenious plan I elaborate, the Caped Manhunter always gets his ears in my business. I don't think there's a bone in my body that the winged monster has not broken already. I have tasted my own blood many times thanks to his habit of using me as his personal punching bag. I have been strong and withstood his punishment, I have been focused on my mission to bring terror and chaos to this darkened city, but why am I still failing miserably time after time? Why doesn't he get the message and leave me alone?_

Joker stopped for a moment and gazed through broken glass. The day outside seemed bright and the sky was blue. This type of weather was a rare occurrence in a city that was most of the time covered in fog or heavy clouded skies. Maybe seasons were changing, Joker thought, maybe there was something good coming to him after all.

My name is terror, my last name mayhem. People see me and they run in fear which I have to admit is fun and I'm really proud of that. I am oved and respected by few; hated and loathed by most… except him.

He just doesn't care. I have to work so hard to make myself noticed by that overgrown rat that it's ridiculous and tiresome… why can't he laugh and just…DIE…like the rest of the people in this city.

**Bats don't have a sense of humor…he's not going to laugh at your jokes.**

"Whoa! I said that already, didn't I?" Joker said under his breath looking at the last written line. The letters were larger and bolder and the print was something different to his ornate, cursive style. Joker looked at the pencil in his hand then looked around suspiciously running a quick hand between his long green hair locks. "That's creepy and it's not easy to creep me out." He continued writing.

_I need to bring down the Batman… but how?_

**He is no longer a man. The madness has engulfed him. There is only the bat and bats don't laugh.**

Who are you? This is my diary and you are interrupting my line of thought so shoo! Begone!

**Does it really matter who I am? You don't know who you are most of the time…**

"I am the Joker, the Clown prince of Crime, the most renowned homicidal artist in Gotham and the world." He finally yelled rising and kicking the chair forcefully aside. He leaned over the table panting angrily.

**And the bat's still out there waiting for you to make a mistake.**

"Shut up!" Joker said waving the pen over the diary. "I'm not going to tolerate language like that. I don't make mistakes and Batman…well, he can kiss my ass."

**I thought you wanted to destroy the Batman, Joke man?**

"I also want my face in Mount Rushmore, thank-you-very-much! And the name is Joker! Either you get your facts straight or I'll kill you, and you know I want to kill someone tonight."

**If that's what you want, you have been doing this the wrong way. You two are opposites of equal power. He's strong and humorless, you are not.**

Joker backed from the desk and started pacing nervously, running his hands through his hair trying to remove the green locks from over his eyes. "Is that wrong? We're nemeses, antitheses, north and south polesof a magnet. The Ying and the Yang…he's the good son, I'm the black sheep." He went back to the desk and leaning over the notebook, started to write again.

**You are still missing the picture, JOKEMAN. You never win because your ****battle is always perfectly balanced. Turn YOUR WEAKNESSES into YOUR ****STRENGTHS. And stop thinking from inside the box.**

"My weaknesses… now let me see," Joker said tapping his head with his index finger. "I am more intelligent, handsome, ruthless, and well dressed. My only weakness is that I can't grow a Charles Atlas physique over night."

**The pen is mightier than the sword, the mind, more powerful than the fist. Bats are methodical creatures, Jokers are …**

"Insane, I know, I know. The Joker is wild and all that." Joker pulled the chair back towards him and reclined on it looking at the ceiling. "I like it, it's my sex appeal. No hesitation, or remorse; and reality is any color I want it to be. And the voices in my head"…Joker sighed. "Well, I like the voices in my head. They keep me company when I'm all by myself."

**Think outside of the box, Jack.**

"And how can I start thinking outside of the box? It's not that I lack imagination, you know?" Joker's voice was raspy and angry.

**Think of chaos in a global scale. Butterflies flutter in New York thus ****someone dies in Tokyo and you'll earn your place in Rushmore.**

"Not only a change in cast but, also a change in the program, from cable to Dish Net, that's what I need. I'm such a genius. The rest of you reading…idiots if you couldn't come up with this." Joker made a raspberry. "This is going to be my best performance in history, and just wait until I start touring."

Joker exploded in laughter, his body jerking and twitching like an epileptic seizure while tears of joy started to well on his eyes. Then the real dimensions of this new project presented themselves in front of his eyes and the laughter stopped abruptly. Joker closed the notebook.

He has always known that achieving his goals was not going to be an easy task but this… this was going to be the hardest thing he had to do to date. The change had to be complete if he was to succeed; to tip the scale in his favor. He needed to fight the bat in his own court, with logic; he had to force his brain to think like the detective if he was to overcome the beast. It was the only way because everything else he had tried had not worked out and he needed his city back, for his greatest performance. It would only be just for a little while, he reasoned; once the Ratman was dead there would be no reason to pretend anymore, he could be his jolly old self. Sanity couldn't be that bad for a little while, right? He would endure. He would triumph. He would beat the Caped Crusader in the battle of the minds and his defeat would be memorable, even for generations to come and Gotham would loose its bat…

Wait a minute… what will happen when there was no more bat? Who will be a worthy adversary for his genius if it wasn't good old Batsy? Joker's eyes widened with terror at the thought of living in a world just by himself, without the bat trying hard to mess with his plans so he could outsmart the beast every time. He held his breath. How could he live all alone in such a large city like Gotham? The solution was simple… he could move to Metropolis and antagonize Super-Dope for a change… after all he hated boy scouts too, and Luthor…well, Luthor was an idiot. Whew!

That was close. Now time was running out and he had to get ready. Batman was about to meet his equal.

"Blip, I need you." Joker called opening the door of the room.

"Yes, boss." Blip answered while drinking a can of soda.

"I need you to rent me a car, make it a big car, all terrain, tinted glass and pronto. I need to run some business out of the city. And bring me some theatrical makeup as well, along with dark hair dye, black will do."

"Where are we going?"

Joker cocked his head slightly. "You? Nowhere. This is something I need to do on my own. I also need someone I can trust to manage my business while I'm gone and see if you can find that useless idiot of Phil. I need to have a little chat with him."

"But sir, you might need protection, the cops will be in the roads too."

Joker smiled wildly. "Let me handle the pigs. Now if you want to make Uncle Joker very happy, stay home and when I come back we're going to kill ourselves a bat and a few birds, all right?"

"But sir…"

"Stay or I'll kill you." Joker smiled very wide. "Painfully."

Michael nodded. "When are you planning on coming back?"

"I'll let you know when I'm ready to come back. In the meantime, the muse has hit me and I need of your abilities to develop a little program for me. Your computing brilliance and my comedic genius… we are going to bring this town down on its knees, the whole country is going to hear the name Joker and never forget it." Joker's face was split by a malevolent wide grin. "Come in and I'll let you into my little plan."

Blip saluted and moved over the coffee table where he had set his laptop. Gathering all of the peripherals, cables, and computer he was ready to follow the boss into the bedroom. Joker grabbed his shirt, and rest of his clothes while humming 'Follow the yellow brick road'. Once back into the bedroom, he stopped by the notebook on the table.

"WOW.Dr. Arkham, you were right. Journal therapy REALLY works." The realization that for once the doctors at Arkham had provided him with a tool to destroy the Batman was too funny, and he could not contain urgeto laugh with all his might at the irony of it all.


	3. Trip through Memory Lane

Disclaimer1: I do not own Batman or any of the related characters, they belong to DC COMICS. The only character I own is Michael Garibaldi...treat him with care.

Disclaimer2: This story contains sections with MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Please use discretion. Some parts of this story might not be suitable for very young children.

BETA READER: KICHI

**Chapter 3: TRIP THROUGH MEMORY LANE**

Joker felt refreshed. There was nothing better than a good shower, shaving the days of stubble and dressing in nice fresh clothes. He wore his favorite yellow shirt and green bowtie, but in the hideout he realized the purple slackers and coat will get the attention anywhere he stopped, so he decided to exchange the rest of his clothing for the more monochromic style of Blip. After all, that was the logical thing to do. He had Michael buy him a dark hunter green jacket and a pair of black  
slackers and sneakers. He looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror and confirmed that the makeup was still in place. He had turned the ability to transform his prominent facial characteristics to a very precise science and it paid off; right now he looked like your regular next door Joe.

Blip had done a great job with the vehicle too. He was able to get a Tahoe with leather interiors and plenty of space inside. That was really nice and comfy, and it drove like a charm. A green sign became visible on the road BRENTON EXIT 2 MILES.

He was close, the closest he has been in almost twenty years. Three and a half hours ago he was in Gotham city and thought this trip was going to be simple and trivial, but now he could feel his heart racing. It was that anticipation you feel when you have the barrel of a gun pointing at your face, you hear the click of the trigger and nothing happens. Joker smiled wide at the image this thought evoked. Not many things made him feel like that. He saw his exit ahead and slowly turned leaving the highway for his appointment with old memories.

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Commissioner Gordon was at his desk when he heard a rustle behind him, and, like from thin air a dark caped figure stood in front of him.

"Do you still have to make your entrances that dramatic?" He said meeting the Dark Knight's gaze.

"Old habits die hard", answered the shadow coming closer to the commissioner. "Any notes or messages from Joker?"

"None so far. I don't know about you, but that makes my bones shiver. Have you heard anything in the streets?"

"He's reorganizing his gang. There is word that his lieutenants have been meeting with the local gangs in search of recruits. Unfortunately every time I seem to get near, the lead grows cold. His old associates are not too interested in joining ranks with him again."

"Intelligent decision if you ask me. Reorganizing is going to be very hard."

"But not for long. He'll hire fresh young blood soon. Joker pays too well to go unnoticed."

"Yes, but at what cost? He will kill for any reason, and he does not discriminate if you are friend of foe." Gordon took a puff from his pipe. "Besides, he should not have that much money to pay his associates. We've systematically discovered many of Joker's money reserves and had the funds frozen for the last few months."

"That has never stopped Joker before."

"He was in Arkham for almost six months. How the hell does he keep his control over his illegal businesses while he is all locked up?"

"He's in charge of a well structured group, and I'm sure that most of his assets are outside of Gotham, probably in European Bank accounts. I suspect he might even invest some of his assets. When he is locked up the money stays there, waiting for when he escapes again. Then he's back in business."

"I would like to be able to sleep one night not having to worry when that psychopath is going to get out next. Jeez, this is nerve wrecking!"

"One thing I do not understand. It's been a little over a week and he hasn't made a move. Usually by this time he has already started to communicate. You know Joker, always in the spotlight."

"I know, and I don't like it either. He loves to just babble all the time. I told you this silence is making me feel uneasy. Unfortunately, until someone talks about his whereabouts, the only thing left to do is sit and wait for him to show his grinning face."

Batman nodded and walked over the open window. "I don't want to wait that long. I need to be ready before he gets his first victim." He paused as he started stepping out the window. "Jim?"

"Go ahead. I've learned to live with your entrances and exits all these years. Just be safe." Batman acknowledged Gordon once and jumped off the window. Gordon leaned forward to follow the caped crusader but by the time he reached the window the Batman was gone. One day he would have to learn the secret of those magnificent exits.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nine twenty-two in the morning. All the roads he remembered where gone and he almost felt like he was in a whole different country. Getting around in the metropolitan area was hard enough with all the tiny streets winding around the tall buildings. It took him about forty-five minutes to find the property after leaving downtown and driving through the rural country roads. He found the entrance to the property closed with a chained link fence and a padlock that looked fairly new. That didn't  
really surprise him; he'd been away too long. Nothing he couldn't take care of. Joker leaned over the chain and a stream of acid from his boutonnière dissolved the padlock. Open Sesame. He swung the gates open and climbed back into the SUV driving for another quarter mile until he finally came to a stop, in front of an old wooden barn. The doors of the barn were old, rusted and twisted but nicely secured with a dark, heavy chain. He got out of the vehicle and took a deep breath while looking around the place. The grass was about a foot tall all around the barn and it smelled fresh and wet. A very large amount of weeds were starting to creep through the grass and climb on the walls.

He looked in search of the house he remembered should have been there. He was not sure if he remembered having being inside that house, slept in that house one time, or maybe knew someone that lived in the house. Worst of all, could he have imagined it all? He had imagined so many past lives that he was not sure which one was real anymore and following the wrong one… well, that would have been embarrassing. He'd have to find out.

Joker had hoped to see that house one more time, but that was not going to happen, and his heart sank. The lot where it should have stood was empty, not even the foundation remained, but still there were going to be memories that he could unearth from the barn. Then he saw a piece of charred wood on the ground among the weeds. He grabbed it and examined it against the sunlight. From up close it seemed like a black piece of burnt charcoal but he could still identify a hint of color, maybe gray or light blue. Gray. That sounded right. He looked around for more hints as to the origin of the wood. Then his nostrils filled with the smell of wood being burned. He remembered the smell. He also remembered the creaking, the heat against his face and the laughter. But who was laughing? He closed his eyes and felt that irresistible feeling at the base of his stomach to burst into laughter, so he followed his instincts and laughed. It felt natural, like a release, but he could not put the finger as to what could be do funny to evoke in him such a strong feeling. If he could just put those memories  
forward in his mind… "I would kill for some chocolate now…"

He walked over to the barn and a feeling of joy filled him. It was not the one he had always felt, especially when he killed someone, that one was extreme but short-lived. Instead it was sincere and almost childish feeling of happiness that made him very comfortable; a feeling he had not felt in a very long time. A vision came through; one of a young spunky boy, no older than nine or ten, playing hide-and-seek with his cousin. He remembered the laughter of two young boys having innocent fun. What was the cousin's name? Ah… Melvin. He remembered Cousin Melvin and smiled. He lived next door and while he was cleverly making things (and Cousin Melvin could make a lot of interesting things), he couldn't understand the simplest of things, like jokes. He remembered playing the classic 'Who's on first?' routine for Melvin and what was he thinking..? Weeks after that, Melvin kept bombarding him with questions of all sorts, confusing himself even more when he was supposed to just laugh at it. /Poor Cousin Melvin… what happened to Melvin..? Joker remembered and anger started to build up. "The Bat keeps taking things from me."

Walking over the barn doors he released another stream of acid from his lapel flower to dissolve the metal links and the chain fell to the ground. The door opened with a loud grating noise. He wished he had brought some WD-40 with him; that was an annoying sound. Joker walked in and was quickly hit by the smell of stale and damp hay and accumulated animal feces. He looked up to the ceiling and noted that there were some areas where the roof had already caved in, and the wooden structure visibly rotted away. He advanced a few paces and a sudden flutter surprised him. A pair of sparrows hurriedly flew away though the roof; _Birds…I hate birds_. He then saw the two stables at the end of the  
building. A name slowly started to form on the back of his memory one letter at the time.

"Dan…," Joker whispered softly as he put a gloved finger over his lips. He remembered an old chestnut Quarter horse occupying the first stable on the left. /Carrots. He loved carrots./ "I brought you a little snack, boy," he whispered. In front he could almost see the horse, approaching him while smacking its lips, looking very interested in the imaginary bunch of raw carrots he was holding in his extended hand. "That's right, pal. Enjoy. You and I best friends, right?"

Everything around him felt unreal, like a mist in which his mind floated at the mercy of the current. He heard some screaming outside, and quickly reached for his gun. He heard steps on top of him and he looked up to the second floor of the barn where he saw a small boy not older than nine running across. _-Damn kids_–Joker thought./ -_They never  
understand the term private property. I'll teach him…_-/ He ran for the ladder and rushed up, the wood creaking under each step. One of the rungs broke under the weight and he lost his balance. He let the gun fall to the ground to hold firmly to the ladder. Joker tried to set foot on the higher rung but this one gave away too. He dangled uncomfortably for a moment when he realized he was been observed from above.

"Howdy neighbor," said Joker in his best southern accent with a broad mile looking directly into the kid's green eyes. "You mind giving a fellow cowboy a hand?" No response. "What kid, you deaf or something?" he said angrily when he realized the kid was not really looking at him but rather through him at the floor below. He heard the barn door open violently and a man rushed in huffing. Joker let go of the ladder and landed loudly on the floor. He rolled and hid in the shadows under the  
second level, and hoped the man had not seen him in the barn.

"Who the hell does she think she is, talking to me like this?" Joker heard the man said loudly. "Bitch! I'll show her. No woman talks to me like that." The man paced backwards and forwards, throwing fists into the air and occasionally kicking a wooden column in his way. He smelled of brandy and whiskey, and his clothes were wrinkled and unkempt. Joker  
felt sick all of a sudden, a sour taste in his mouth. "Just go out with my friends, have a few drinks and she calls me a drunk, I swear I'll kill her, I'll kill her!"

The man suddenly stopped in front of the horse's stable. Instinctively the animal approached the man and started to nuzzle him. He was probably searching for more carrots. Joker looked closer at the angry man's face. He was about mid forties, thin but well built, his wild curly hair starting to pepper, and a very thin moustache drawn over the lips. There was something in that man that looked very familiar, but he could not put his finger on it.

"Get off me, you stupid beast", yelled the man, banging the horse squarely on the muzzle. The horse was startled for a moment, but after that, kept on trying to nibble on the man's clothes. "I told you…to fucking…leave me… alone!" said the man advancing to the edge of the stable from where he grabbed a shotgun. He then walked back to the stable and aimed the shotgun at the horse. "You want to fuck with me? Go ahead, you God damn horse!" He shot twice inside the stable and Joker heard a loud thud. The man aimed lower and tried a third shot, but the gun was empty. He then smashed it against the stable door several times until the last thing left of the gun was the end of the barrel he was holding. He threw it against the floor and steadied himself against a column. By this time it was obvious the man was very intoxicated and  
having trouble standing up. "Crazy horse." Joker heard a soft giggle. "Crazy dead horse."

The man turned around and wobbled towards the exit. By the time he reached the door the giggle had escalated in pitch and volume. The man left the barn and Joker felt comfortable enough to leave his hiding place. He found his gun; put it back securely in his holster and looked up to the second level of the barn. The kid was no longer visible. He walked towards the stable and peeked inside. The horse's body lay on the ground unmoving. Under his head a large amount of blood was starting to seep through the bedding. The crimson color of blood…a masterpiece. Joker looked up and saw the kid, from behind some bales of hay looking down at him again. Even from where he stood he could see that the kid had tears running down his cheeks. Those large green eyes never left him. His light brown wild hair and the look on his face were eerie  
familiar; almost like looking through a mirror. Joker had a chill.

"You killed Dante, you murdering son of a bitch, and I'll make sure you ride it in hell...I swear." Joker whispered covering his mouth with his hand. What had he said? No, no, no. That was wrong; you don't use language like that when you refer to your…

"Excuse me, can I help you?" said a voice behind him. Joker slowly turned and saw a man, about thirty years, light reddish brown hair, dressed in jeans and a striped red shirt aiming a hunting rifle at him. He looked up to the upper level, and the kid had disappeared. He peeked again into the stable. Empty. "Could you please show me your hands?"

"Are you for real, or am I imagining you too?"

"I said put your hands where I can see them." The man with the rifle said firmly. "Now."

Joker was used to the drill. He lifted both hands over his head showing the palms of his hands. He tilted his head slightly and broad smile appeared on his face. His large green eyes opened wide. "I come in peace… I go in pieces." Joker chuckled softly.

"What?" The man with the rifle moved closer, not amused at all and not loosing sight of the Joker or his hands. Behind him was a large yellow Labrador retriever panting but very attentive. "You know this is private property, right?"

"Yes," Joker replied. "And you are…?"

"This is my property so I'll ask the questions." Joker nodded. "Who are you and what do you want here?"

"My name is Joseph Kerr. There was a house in this property behind the barn, an old house. It was the house of … a friend. Just came to see if he still lived there."

The man with the rifle looked at him in silence for a moment. "That house burned down and was demolished a long time ago. Nobody has lived in this property in over fifteen years, Mr. Kerr. But that still doesn't answer who gave you the right to force your entrance to the property and to the barn?"

So that was the house that had burned… but why was it so funny? Joker would have to gather more clues. "The place looked abandoned. I thought nobody would mind if I took a stroll to explore."

"Well it's not abandoned," answered the man dryly. "And I don't like trespassers."

"That's an understatement, my friend." Joker rolled his eyes.

"Not funny, Mr. Kerr, so I suggest that unless you want me to call the authorities to settle this, you remove yourself from my property immediately."

"Oh, no need to bring the authorities for a simple misunderstanding," Said Joker nonchalantly. "I will leave sooner than you can say 'candid camera'." The man's silence made him comfortable enough to continue. "You know, I feel a little awkward with you knowing my name but I don't have the slightest idea to whom I'm talking to."

"Eggleton. Robert Eggleton."

"Well, nice to meet you. Now Rob, can I finally lower my hands or you want me to leave like this? It's going to be very difficult for me to drive with my hands above my head." Robert could not suppress a soft smile. Then signed him to lower his arms and Joker sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Joker straightened his jacket and started to walk past Eggleton and his rifle. The retriever growled softly and Joker stared at him. He made a pause and slowly turned around. The dog cowered behind his master. "Sorry for the misunderstanding and the trespassing. No hard feelings, eh, Rob?" He said extending a friendly gloved hand. Eggleton relaxed and pulled back the rifle while responding to the gesture. Both hands met and Eggleton felt like someone hit him with a sledgehammer. Everything went black and Robert heard someone busting in laughter. In the darkness Robert heard a gunshot and something fell hard beside him then everything went silent.


	4. How much for just the Joker?

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS and I don't get any money from using them. This is just for pure fun. Please, feel free to email me your feedback, It's always good to know if you like it...

Disclaimer2: Some scenes are intended for mature readers. Especially in this chapter, some scenes might not be suitable for very young children

Chapter 4: HOW MUCH FOR A JOKER?

Blip walked very fast. He wanted to get to his car and back to the apartment before the rush hour or he will be stuck in Gotham's traffic for hours. He had just tried to do a quick visit to the drugstore for his medicines, before returning home to work on the project the boss left him. The streets were full of people, trying to do just that. He got to the corner of Glasgow and McGuiness and waited for the signal to cross the street. He hated large groups of people; they made him really uncomfortable. He's never been good with people, so he preferred that solitude his computer and his cyber-world had provided him. That was a lot safer.

Today had been an unusually hot day in Gotham and he was sweating profusely. On top of that his allergies were really bothering him today; his nose, throat and eyes itched and he felt all stuffed up. He took off his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt, then wiped his face. Green light. Green hair. He thought of the boss. Why was it that color always reminded him of him and nothing else?

They said that the Joker was insane and though he had to admit that the man was a bit odd he had been good to him. He had seen many associates, as the Joker liked to call them, come and go. Always follow his instructions to the tee and just leave him alone when he's in one of his mood swings; he had learned the hard way, and that had helped him survive for over two years at his side. The boss had even allowed him to help with the finances, hacking to and from different bank accounts under multiple names. He had him wire a few of the hideouts with the latest technology and the boss would even fund his cybernetic research. That was a normal day for him and Joker was not that bad.

They both had gotten really close, and though getting use to his twisted sense of humor took time and Joker obviously appreciated his services as well as the company or he would be dead by now. That was the way with the boss… if he didn't like something he'll dispose of it permanently and Blip knew the Joker didn't like a lot of things, especially incompetent staff. But the boss would occasionally pat him on the back and congratulate him on a job well done. He had to say that regardless what the media said, he was a good boss and extremely knowledgeable too. More than once, Blip was surprised to hear the boss talk in the same technical jargon he himself used, and one or twice of the boss' ideas had become standard procedures in his book. Joker would have been an incredible hacker if he had the discipline and the patience to sit at a computer terminal for hours at a time. Not the Joker. His mind was always running at the speed of light, always moving, always planning on his favorite pastime: murder.

Michael hurried across the avenue pushing his way through the sea of people on the sidewalk. He entered the public parking building and took the keys from his pocket. He sneezed violently and picked the key to open the door when he felt the hair on the back of his neck raise. He turned his head tentatively sideways to see if he could catch anything with the corner of his eye.

"Hello Michael," He recognized the voice, and started running as fast as he could away from it. _–Stupid, Blip, very stupid_—He said to himself while slowing down until he finally came to a stop. In his mind he could see the Joker ready to dump him in a vat of molten iron for running like that instead of facing the shadows. 'Face your fears,' the boss had said. 'Laugh in their face.' The voice spoke to him again, "Going somewhere?"

"You scared me shitless, man. Do you always have to appear like that, out of the blue?" he answered bent over, his hands over his knees and still panting from the effort running while trying to force a smile. He was not made for exercise. "I am clean, Bats. What you want?"

"Are you sure, Michael? From what I've heard you're running some errands. For whom, your old boss?"

"Ha, Joker? No way." said Blip faking a smile again. In front of him the Batman did not seem amused. "I don't work for him anymore and the longer he stays away from me the better. He's really creepy and got me in a lot of trouble last time."

"You're meeting with the regional gangs on your own? That's way out of your league, Michael."

"Last time I checked, I can associate with whomever I want." Michael said frowning. He did not need the Bat to tell him what he could do or don't do.

"You are an intelligent kid Michael. The Joker is a mass murderer; a lunatic without either remorse or sense of honor. You think he cares for you? Think again. When you stop being useful to him, he'll kill you. And you want to avoid the regional gangs; they could consider you a problem if you're not careful, especially if they find out you were associated with the Joker."

"I think your cowl is too tight. Listen man, I told you already. I don't wan' 'im close and I know how to handle the gangs in this town, so stop preaching, OK? Now, unless you have something on me, just leave." Michael approached the black figure tentatively. "If the Joker finds out you and I are talking, he's gonna imagine in that crazy head of his I'm working for you and then he'll have a good reason to snuff me. So just leave me alone."

"Then tell me this, Michael. If you have not seen him, why did I find purple fibers on the back seat of your car? Do the fibers belong to a certain purple suit?"

_Oh jeez, he already searched the car. I am screwed, big time; stupid, stupid. C'mon, think fast_. "Alright. You got me fair and square, Bats. Yes, I have the Joker's suit. You happy with that? Just don't put it in the news, OK?"

"Where is he?" Batman's voice sounded like a growl. Michael's heart started to race again.  
"Told you already, man, I don't know. I just have his suit. Look." Blip walked back to the car and opened the trunk. From the corner of his eye Blip saw the Batman put his hands over his belt and was holding tight to the batarang. He slowly pulled the double-tailed suit out. "See? Just clothes. No Joker. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Why do you have the Joker's clothes in your trunk?

Blip sighed. "What does it look like man? I'm selling them." The Batman remained motionless and completely silent. If it was not because Michael was seeing him with his own two eyes he could say that there was no one in there with him. "I already sold his shirt, and I'm trying to find a buyer for the suit… interested?"

"Who's going to buy the Joker's clothes?"

"Not only clothes. I have a few of his calling cards, maybe a joy buzzer or two… Believe it or not, Bats, there is market for this stuff. Is like a 'status' thing. Don't you keep trophies too?"

"Trophies…" That touched a sensitive nerve.

"Yeah, you know, so you can show off with your friends…oh, that's right, you don't have many friends." Batman frowned. "Well, anyways, there are a lot of people interested in these… little pieces of history."

"The Joker is not going to be happy when he finds out that you are selling his things."

"Come on, Bats. That crazy clown owns like a million of these things. He's not going to miss two or three of them unless someone tells him, if you know what I mean?" Michael winked maliciously.

"You're more stupid than I thought. If what you told me is true you are walking on fire, especially if the Joker finds out."

Blip shrugged." Hey man, if it keeps my pockets full of dough…" The Batman looked at him intently. He felt like the bat could cut through him if he stared long enough. Michael started to sift things in the trunk. "And if you don't want the suit I think I can find a few of his playing cards, you know the ones with his face on it. What ya' think, Bats?"

Batman snorted. "I'll be watching you closely, Michael, and if I find out you have been lying to me..."

"Fine, and as long you don't tell the Joker what I'm doing, I'm cool."

Batman turned around and walked away disappearing shortly in the darkness of the parking lot. Blip just stood there for long minutes making sure that the bat was not planning on coming back, or maybe his muscles just froze in place; he wasn't sure. Michael tossed the suit in and closed the trunk, and walked over to the driver's side. He slid into the seat as calmly as he could and closed the door putting the keys into the ignition. He grabbed the steering wheel firmly with his hands and felt like the world was removed from under his feet and was spinning out of control. Strong nausea took a hold of him and he started to hyperventilate. He was about to have a panic attack…

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Robert felt lightheaded and his entire body ached as bad as if he had been hit by an Amtrak train. His mouth tasted like copper and was really dry. He tried to stretch back when he found he was sitting on the floor with something hard against his back. Robert tried to move but his arms about but they were tightly pulled back, and he could feel the rope cutting into his wrists. Robert opened his eyes, and everything looked fuzzy, like a dream. In front of him stood a tall, thin figure in a bright yellow shirt with sleeves rolled to the elbows amd a large smile on his face. The smiling figure was carrying a cardboard box.

"Well, well, well. So Sleeping Beauty decides to join the party, uh?" The Joker said dropping the box onto the floor. "You had me worried there for a moment, Rob. I thought I'd fried your brain."

"What… what did you do to me?"

"Oh… let's just say that I like to make shocking lasting impressions on people. Shocking. Get the joke?" Joker started to laugh showing off the joy-buzzer in his hand.

"I don't have any money, please…"

"Is that what you think I want? Your money?" Joker said kicking the cardboard box gently next to other two. All the boxes were dirty, slightly damp and string was wrapped all around them very tightly. "You're just an accident Rob. You were not even suppose to be here, am I correct?"

"I… I came to fix the fence on the northern end of the property," said Robert looking beside him where his dog lay dead on the ground. "Oh God… Max… you killed Max."

"See? I was right and that explains the shovel and tools in your truck. Thanks, 'cause I forgot mine. Nice dog, you had there too; very loyal, to the end." Joker smiled, sinisterly. "Now, while you were sleeping, I got to work and look what I found." He pointed to the boxes on the floor, his eyes glowing with joy. "A buried treasure!"

"What …what's in those boxes?" Robert tried to get away from them.

"I have no clue. Can I call you Bobby? Sure I can. Well Bobby, let's uncover what's in Box #1." Joker cut the string holding the box closed and peeked inside. Looking disappointed, he knocked the box over and the semi-mummified remains of a four-legged animal spilled out. "Not a winner."

"What happened to that… thing?"

"Thing? You mean Fluffy there?" asked Joker looking kind of surprised. He ran a hand through his hair then scratched his head. "I don't know. She didn't look like that when I put her in the box, I swear. I think they call it… dying?" He busted into laughter so hard that his eyes watered.

"You… killed that animal too?"

"Ah, long story, I was holding a grudge with the neighbor or something and the cat was within reach. I did that all the time. You probably don't want to hear it."

Robert's heart was racing. This guy was giving him the creeps with his odd behavior and perverse sense of humor "Joseph, look. I'm willing to make a deal with you. I will not contact the police if you just release me and let me go back to my family and you leave the property. You can have my word."

"And the tooth fairy is my long lost sister…" Joker said moving on to the next box and pulling very old comic books and a slingshot. He sat on the floor and gently opened one of the comic books, some of the pages crumbling under his touch. He removed his gloves and a pair of pale hands continued sifting though the pages. Robert could hear him chuckling as he looked at the pages. "For real. I might be crazy but I'm not stupid. Have you ever felt like your life's a comic book story, Bob? I do a lot of times and it's not funny to see yourself drawn differently every day. I think that is why they call me crazy. Every day new artist, new colorist; and the same old story… bad kills people,…good fights bad… bad looses to good… bad goes to the lunatic asylum. Life is not a comic book story, Bob. Life is a nightmare. Stop the world that I wanna get off!" Joker chuckled as he explored another box and removed some old yellowed newspaper clippings. "My collection… I've forgotten all about it."

"Why are you doing this, Joseph? You don't have to hurt anybody. I can pay you, what ever you ask, no matter the price." Joker looked at Robert tenderly and laughed hard while throwing clippings to Robert.

"Now you're offering me a bribe and that's not going to work either. Funny, did anybody call you Egg-head in school?" Joker looked back down at the clippings and giggled. "Well, wanna see my collection? I have all types. Natural and unnatural disasters, just ask. It's like, you know, massacres. People dying in large numbers are so much fun, don't you think? I might even have some of those around here too…"

"I think it's sick."

"And I think it's I funny. See, I use to collect all these then because I always had a soft spot for death and mayhem. Call it a gift. Then I stopped collecting the day I started to make the news. I became my own collectible, would you believe that? "Joker's eyes narrowed as if concentrating. "I wonder how much I'm worth on EBay now…"

"Joseph…"

"Hush, I'm having a Kodak moment here," whispered Joker looking down at some photographs he found at the bottom of the box. He remained silent looking from picture to picture; setting them in the floor side by side as if an album. The pictures were of people, children playing, having parties, images that started to take shape in his mind, in patchy episodes, with an unreal, almost dreamlike feeling. Joker sat with his left leg raised and his chin resting on his knee looking down to the pictures on the floor. He used his right hand to comb down his wild black mane, while he rocked on the ground very gently singing the Happy Birthday song under his breath. He saw the picture a lady in a blue dress with a toddler, no more than maybe four, expressive green eyes, wild brown hair and the largest smile sitting on her lap. That was one happy kid, he thought, where had he seen him before? The kid upstairs… Joker felt his eyes fill with tears, but these tears were not of happiness, for he felt fury build up inside him. He wanted to smile after seeing that beautiful face again, but at the same time wanted to rip the picture in a thousand pieces and burn it, and if he could, find the woman in the picture and kill her himself. Joker grabbed the picture of the blue lady and took a closer look. What had happen to that lady? It was all like a large thick mist, and he was so confused, hurting and he couldn't figure out why. He'd never remember feeling this way about someone before. Very odd...

She was smiling for the picture, and he remembered that beautiful, angel-like smile and how one day that smile disappear to never come back again. The mist started to lift, and he remembered now. She had left him many times, sometimes weeks passed before he would see her again. Everybody said she was sick, maybe someone said she was a little crazy,but for him, it wasn't always that way. He remember the walks in town by her hand. The trips to the circus, her sweet laugter. Then one day everthing change. Ever since her first long absence she became a distant stranger and not the sweet smiley woman that he was seeing kissing the kid so tenderly in his birthday. Those were the dark days. He had been very close to this lady, remembered her singing and telling him stories, then one day, he stopped having any meaning for her. It was as if he didn't exist for her anymore, instead talk to herself in the corners and she would sing lullabies to an empty crib. What did he have to do to get her attention? Kill her? Maybe she will notice him while she was dying… but if he could just see her once more… just talk to her one last time…

Joker grabbed the pictures and looked at them intently as he paced nervously. Somewhere there had to have a clue as to why he had this conflicting feeling in his gut. Why was he trying to remember this when it hurt so much? Why not let those feelings buried where they were, that way, they will not hurt him anymore. His feelings were all jumbled; love and hate, mixed with a physical need to destroy, to murder… because this feeling made him feel very uncomfortable and he could not deal with it. When he could not deal with something, it will be better to destroy it, and destroy the memory that came attached to it; that way the suffering would go away. But this memory was not gone, but fighting to resurface, in a battle that left him empty, tense, and confused. These were feelings he was not ready to deal with.

_Then he saw her, just like in the picture. The lady in blue was standing in front of him, smiling and extending her hand to him, calling his name… Jack. God! It's being so long since he heard that name. "Mom?" He whispered as he dropped the pictures on the floor and walked a few paces towards the lady. He stopped and looked around, hesitantly, as if expecting something from the shadows of the barn to jump on him. Nothing. _

_He walked forward to meet this blue angel and when he was inches from touching that hand, the lady's arm transformed into a large black tentacle that grabbed him painfully. He looked at the lady's blue eyes, pleading for release, but those eyes had been replaced by two bottomless red pits. From everywhere he could hear the desperate cry of a baby, so chilling that it made the hair on the back of his neck stand. Joker tried to pull away from the tentacle's grip without success and saw as more dark projections sprouted from the lady in blue grabbing his legs and body in a crushing embrace. One of them hit him in the face with tremendous force. He dropped to his knees cowering from the tentacles that started to fall on him forcefully. –Mom, please, stop. It's not my fault, it's not my fault! He said over and over again when he heard a voice behind him. It was an eerie familiar male voice that seemed to be coming from miles away. Another tentacle fell on him, hitting him hard enough for him to loose his balance. Joker fell to the ground on his stomach. Joker looked up fromthe ground, his eyes wide with terror. The lady in blue had transformed into a gigantic mass of black goo that threatened to engulf him. Clawing at the dirt under him he tried to crawl away from the vicious attack when he felt something holding his left leg. He looked down his leg and saw a tentacle wrapped around his ankle holding him in place. 'Please mom, I said I'm sorry,' Joker said pulling against the tentacle without success; the only think he could do was curl into a small ball in the floor waiting for the pain to end soon. The man spoke again._

"Joseph!"

Joker looked behind him, still cowering to see the origin of the voice, he saw a man tied to a post, looking at him intensely. The man called him again and he remembered where he was. Timidly, he raised his head to find out the monster that had been attacking him had disappeared. There was nothing there but an old frayed piece of rope that had entangled around his leg. He was kneeling on the ground, totally covered in sweat, no lady in blue, no monster, no more fear. The shadows around him were as quiet as before and there was a dreadful silence. The Clown Prince chuckled timidly, got up and after dusting his clothes walked back to the man in the post.

"Joseph, you OK?"

"Sure, peachy." answered Joker picking the pictures from the ground. "Why?"

"You were screaming in pain back there."

"You're imagining things, Eggie."

"But you…"

"If I say I'm OK, I'm OK, no argument. Clear? Whatever you saw or heard, you must have imagined it." Joker ran a hand through his wild black hair. "So where was I? Oh yes, my collection…

"You already told me about your collection." Robert flung back dryly.

"Well, I'll tell you again if I want to." Joker made a short pause and scratched his head then let himself hard on the ground giggling frantically. "You must think I'm crazy, but let me tell you something, I'm not. It's just that I've never done this before. Family is not something I'm used to doing. It's my first time… and I have to admit I'm a little nervous." Joker chuckled softly and Robert just looked at him silently. "How does it feel, Bob?"

"How does it feel what?"

"You know, to have one." Joker said while he searched in his jacket. He then pulled a photograph that he put at Robert's eye level. He recognized the picture immediately and his eyes widened in terror. "This is your family, right? I found this taped on the dashboard of your truck."

"You're wrong, that's not my…" Robert laughed nervously.

Joker grabbed the rifle that had been sitting in the floor and aimed it to Robert's head between the eyes. "Your nose gave you away Pinocchio. Now, I'll ask again. Is that your family in the picture? And this time, don't even think of lying to me. I can tell when you're lying, because I'm the King of Lying. Capice."

Robert's lower lip trembled."OK, yes! That's my wife Judith and my sons Michael and Kyle; but please Joseph, I beg you, don't hurt them, they've done nothing to you. Please don't kill them." Tears were starting to run down Rob's cheeks. Joker put the rifle down on the floor by his side.

"Who said anything about hurting your family? I just asked you how it felt to have one, since I hardly remember mine." Joker scowled. "You're such a melodramatic fool, Bob."

Robert took a deep breath. He was terrified, but if he wanted to live he had to play this guy's game. "It-it's good to have a family. Someone t-to come back to after work, you know, and just talk to be there for you. A family loves you…"

"Even the kids? They can just… rub you the wrong way, you know? I don't like kids; especially babies." Joker said with an obvious chill, and then a broad smile split his face only to be gone as fast as it came. "I remember being was a kid once. A good kid I might add. I always tried to avoid trouble, though trouble always followed me, or was it all the way around? Anyways, it just hurts to remember how many times I tried to make my parents happy and it never seemed enough. –'Wash your hands, don't slurp the soup, do the dishes… kill the cat'….no, wait… I did the cat all by myself…" Joker tried to laugh but the result was more of a snort. "It's hard when you're just a smudge on the wall and nobody cares. And when it hurts this bad, it is better to forget. Did I tell you I hate kids?"

"I'm…sorry, Joseph."

Joker charged forward and slapped Robert violently producing a small trickle of blood was visible at the right edge of his lip. He waved an index finger in front of the man.

"Don't patronize me, Robert. I don't want nor need your sympathy; and do me a favor, stop calling me Joseph… It's getting annoying?"

"Can I call you asshole instead?" retorted Robert through his teeth by instinct. Robert's eyes glowed with fury when he realized what he had said. That was not a wise move, not with a maniac in front of you, with a rifle and who enjoy killing animals and who know what else. He bit his lip wishing he could take those words back, should he apologize?. Joker just looked at him and laughed sitting again on the floor and resting his head over his raised knee. He found this brave little man very amusing.

"No, my daring friend, but Mr. Joker will do; or Monsieur Joker if you want to sound sophisticated and chic, but if you really want to tickle my funny bone, you can call me…God." He fell backwards to the ground and laughed gleefully. "You dig me, Egg-head?"

Robert now knew who he was dealing with and that did not make it feel any better. Even when this man did not have green hair or ghostly white skin, he indeed had an unusually large smile and a twisted sense of humor. If this was really the Joker, Robert knew he was in deep trouble, deadly trouble. He had heard that name before, and that a large death toll usually followed; the truth was, who had not heard his name in this country? There have been numerous news reports about the Joker and his murderous rampages on local TV stations and newspapers, but all that had happened in another city, not here in Brenton. The city had never been a target for the Joker until now.

"A little away from Gotham, aren't we?"

"Oh, so you have heard about me? What can I say… my reputation precedes me." Joker got up, dusted his pants and proudly straightened his jacket chuckling. "I'm far from Gotham yes, but very close to home. You see, Bob, you might have a paper that says you own this property, which I still don't know how you got, but I have the original title. I owned this land since you were probably… just an egg." Joker laughed loudly. "I was born here, Rob. This is really MY property, my barn, my grass, my weeds and YOU are the one trespassing. You know something, Eggie? I… don't… like… trespassers."

Robert opened his eyes wide in surprise. That explained how he knew so much of the property to begin with, where to dig for those boxes and felt the freedom to break into the property on the first place. Then he realized that he was finding out too much information. The Joker was this enigmatic character, of whom nobody knew anything before he became the Jester of Hate; or maybe nobody live long enough to tell anybody else…and he realized that his probabilites of surviving this went from slim to none. He had to try something desperate.

"If what you want is your property back, we can make an arrangement."

"The property IS already mine, Bob. Besides, it's just a piece of land in the map. The house is gone, and me? Well, I'm just hunting memories." Joker grabbed the rifle from the ground and using it as a cane, walked around Robert until he disappeared from his view. "You're very proud of your little family aren't you, Bob? You and your middle class wife with your two stupid little kids, in a middle class neighborhood, enjoying the American Dream. Isn't your life just peachy, Robbie?" Joker closed in Robert and he could feel the Clown Prince pressing the rifle's barrel onto the back of his head.

"Yes, I…I'm..."

"Would you still be that happy if I killed, let's say… Michael? Just imagine, one less college bill you'll have to worry about…college is so damn expensive…" Joker chuckled and continued pacing around until he faced Robert again, the rifle now over his shoulder.

"Please Joker, I am pleading you, not…"

"SHUT UP! I'm making a point here!" Joker yelled waving a menacing finger to Robert's face. "Wouldn't that mess up your head? And wouldn't it really mess you up if I also killed your wife, very slow and painfully…in front of you?" Joker giggled maliciously. "Where do you live, Egg-head?"

"WHAT'S YOUR POINT?" Robert yelled as tears started to run down hischeeks again.

"My point is how much will it take me to break you? To make you go cuckoo. People say I'm insane but that doesn't really begin to describe me. I am a broken man, Bobby. Look at me, one day I'm doing the best I can to survive in this tortured world, caring for a family, just like yours and the next day, WHAM!, life plays a joke on me." Joker looked at Robert with a large smile. "So tell me Eggie, what would you do if I murdered your entire family?"

"I'll kill you."

"Bold, but sincere, I like it. You got balls talking to me like that, Egg-head." Joker giggled and patted Robert's face tenderly. "You want revenge and the driving force is your anger, your pain of loosing your family at the hands of a maniac like me."

"Why are you doing this? You want revenge? I don't even know you."

"AND WHO CARES?" Joker yelled coming closer to Robert and stopping short of a few centimeters from his face. He grabbed him by the hair and pulled back painfully while his green eyes, with a wild glow, were fixed on the bound man. Joker pressed the rifle under Robert's chin and pointed it upwards. "Listen to teacher, buddy. This is not about you, OK? What I mean to say is that anger helps you fulfill your destiny; your life will have a mission."

Joker let Robert's head go and knelt in front of him, his weight resting on the rifle by his side that he held as a cane. "A long time ago, I made a mistake. I decided to forget my pain. I even decided to hide everything I was, everything I had because it was too painful to carry that load over my shoulders. I wanted to bury it deep where I could not find it and I created a whole new world to live in, a world in which I was king. This was a world in which I will provide the entertainment, the happiness that I had been denied. Not only that, I created a whole new person to live in this world. "Joker made a reverence and giggled. "Yours truly. Never even looked back, just let my instincts loose and followed that little voice in my head that told me that people needed a little bit of humor in their lives; the humor that leaves you gasping for air until you turn blue or the fun in an unexpected death… People will be happy as long as I was happy and nothing makes me happier than murder. Humor—I thought then—will help me to forget my old painful past and allow me to live my new life, but I was wrong. I lost control, then the clown that I let loose took over and it was literally a circus in my head. I didn't have anything to hold me down and give me meaning, because I had forgotten my pain; I was like a ship without sails, and caught in the middle of a storm. Murder turned into an addiction, instead of a passion and everything turned into a big blur. Then the shipwreck...with no survivors. Now where is the humor in that..? Joker chuckled. "Well, shipwrecks can be funny especially if you don't know how to swim…" .

"Humor? You kill people, just for the fun of it."

"Exactly. See? You're starting to see things from my point, Eggie. I've lost control. This person I created, the clown, kills just because and that is not only insane but also not fun at all. I, on the other hand, am an artist and artists need focus, need a purpose. Every death has to have a reason. Ahh, I still remember when I killed for a paycheck…and it was good to be in control, every death a unique work of art, Oh, Bobby, there can be so much beauty in death…"

"You are making no sense, Joker. You're out of your mind. "

"And you, Bob, are an idiot. Have you not being paying attention? I WAS insane, now I'm saner by the minute and at the end, I'm going to be so sane soon that it's gonna hurt. Being a little '_loco de la cabeza'_ was good and fun in the short run. So much freedom… just go with the flow, and shoot all the people, one by one as they go." Joker giggled. "But there was a catch. This insanity had prevented me from developing my full potential. The Joker that the media has created, is not me, it's only half of me. I am bigger, meaner, and more inspired than the pathetic image you see in the news. I'm destined for greater things Bob, and while I'm not in control, I can't bring the bat down, and claim what is rightfully mine. But when I recover my sanity… the pain is gonna be so big, that I'll have enough strength to take the whole world with me, along with a Bat and a Bird, some pigs and a few others I have in my little black list."

"What part do I play in this?"

"After all this, you still think this is about you? Sorry to burst your bubble, Egg-head, but you have no purpose, you're here just along for the ride," said the Joker smiling gleefully. "Let me tell you a little story. This is the story of a little boy who was probably not older than eleven… I don't know, twelve years when he got tired of having things taken away from him. He lived with his parents in a little gray house in the middle of nowhere, and believe me, this place was in the middle of nowhere. This kid was different from other kids you see in your neighborhoods. He was very intelligent, and very resourceful, but the circumstances around him were not the best for him those days. He was alone most of the time, and the parents, well…were not there for him plain and simple. So he had to improvise. Around him the world was an angry enemy that was only there to hurt him so he decided to cut ties with that world. With time, the world he lived in had no meaning for him and the only thing that was important was the things he could do, the things he could think. And believe me Bobby, he could do a lot of thinks and a wonderful imagination he had. One of the things he learned to do early in his life was to take care of the things that hurt him he most, and he promptly learned the thrill of the hunt. And hunting down all those things that hurt him and destroy them gave him a feeling of sheer pleasure that he had not felt before, like when you ride a roller coaster for the first time. Jeez! Somebody should have told these kids, roller coasters can be addictive!" said Joker not able to contain an explosive burst of laughter. His laugh stopped suddenly, his eyes fixed on Robert, but not really looking at him, instead he seemed to be somewhere else, miles away…

_Jack sat on the ground under the tall spruce and rested against its large trunk. This was his favorite spot in the whole world, where he could be all by himself. He grabbed the large piece of wood he had found a few days before between his hands and settled it down over his legs and taking a utility knife from the top pocket of his overall he opened the blade and started to work on the wood's flat surface._

_"Why does it always have to be me?" Jack murmured as he. "I didn't do nothing, just wanted to have some fun." He continued carving, K-I-L- "An' mom didn't say nuthin'. She never sez nuthin'."_

_Jack was working the knife forcefully against the grain of the wood when it slipped from his hand and caused a large cut on his right thumb. He winced and grabbed his thumb with the other hand; while he started to drip blood heavily. "Stupid kid, pay attention to what yer doin', will yeh?" He yelled. _

_This had not being a good day for him. First it was the fight at school that had gotten him into trouble in the first place and then when he had to take the principal's note to his mom, all hell broke loose. She had said she was very disappointed on him, pushed him around several times, and left for her room, crying. Ever since she had returned from the hospital, she had tried to blame everything on him; she did not use to be like that. That was so unfair, especially when the fight that he had started had left him pretty bruised. He was the victim, he was the one hurting and that made him a real victim, didn't it? "Yes, you are the victim," he said to himself, in that grownup voice he sometimes used with his imaginary friend. If his imaginary friend was here…but the pain didn't allowed him to concentrate on anything more than the pain. He heard a voice talk to him. "Pain is good for others," he said and in a low, deep voice almost like a snarl, "but not that much fun when only you feel it." Now his bleeding thumb was throbbing. Jack loosened his grip on his finger slightly and looked at the wound. It was not a deep cut, but very long extending from the base of the nail to the webbing and still bleeding. Jack grabbed the wood he was carving and put it under his bleeding hand. The blood started to fall on the flat surface in a pattern, one drop at a time. He then moved his hand over the surface of the wood. First two eyes, then a nose, then a large grin. It was amazing what he could let the blood do. A smiley face…_

_There was a chirping sound coming from the other side of the tree. Jack wrapped his thumb on his handkerchief and walked on his knees around to find the source of the noise. In the ground, among the leaves, he saw something moving, completely covered by vegetation but strong enough cause a small commotion under the brown leaves. He advanced towards the noise and after cleaning the leaves around it, noticed a very small bird, first feathers starting to sprout from his naked pink body and eyes still closed flapping in the ground. Jack touched it and the bird held its head up and opened its mouth. He grabbed the little bird tenderly in his hands and crawled back to his spot under the tree._

_"Hi li'l fellow," said Jack with the hand holding the bird close to his face. "Are you all by yourself?" _

_The bird chirped loudly. Jack blew some air over the bird, that again lifted it head with mouth wide open. "I'm all by myself too, at least for now. I like to be by myself." Jack petted the bird on its head softly. The bird opened its mouth again. "Hungry?"_

_The little bird flapped its featherless wings as if he had understood what Jack said. "Well, when pa finds out about the note, I'll be hungry too, 'cause he's gonna make me skip supper 'n he'll probably bring the belt out ." The bird was chirping frantically on his hand. Jack grasped the bird in his fist. "What's with you, birdie. Is your empty tummy hurtin'?" Jack tightened his grip on the bird. "Listen birdie I'm the one hurting here! Look at my finger!"_

_The bird by now was panting in his fist. "You're just like the rest…let me share my pain wit' you…"_

_Jack crushed the bird against the piece of wood leaving a large splotch of blood under his hand. He then used the remains of the bird to smear the entire piece of wood as he started to giggle._

_"You felt my pain? Good. You're making me feel better now…" He said shaking his hand to dispose of the bloody remains of the bird "A lot better." His giggles started to turn into chortles._

Joker looked around him, and remembered where he was, but he was still giggling. In front of him, Robert was looking at him suspiciously. Joker looked down and saw his right hand. There was a long thin scar running down his thumb. "Now that I remember…I think I was kind of sick kid…' Joker said rising up while staring at Robert. "Where was I, Egg-head? Yes, the story… and believe me Bobby; he could do a lot of great things. He fueled his mind and intellect because he wanted to be better than what he was and learned many things, art, firearms, poetry, chemistry, and comedy. Oh, Bobby, he was so funny… He could do it all. He took it into himself to know, to learn, because knowledge makes you free, right?

Well, time passed and one day this kid decided to take matter into his hands and start changing the world around him. He got tired of being pushed around so he pushed back; with a vengeance. Nobody will ever make him feel less than what he was. He was destined for greatness and he knew it, so when someone tried to walk over him, he made his first kill right here in this barn…

"The cat?" interjected Robert.

"No, not the cat, Egghead, a puppet" said Joker grimacing and obviously annoyed. "A stupid neighbor kid…nasty, chubby, dirty, little son of a bitch and don't interrupt me when I'm talking or I'll cut your tongue and shove it up your ass, OK?" Joker sighed and cleared his throat. "As I was saying, this was the place of initiation. Here he discovered the exhilaration of the hunt, the beauty of the rigor mortis, the humor of death and mayhe; those things would become the set of rules by which he was going to live by. The world is a stage, and you people are just mere puppets in a play called life, Bobby, and the boy was giving the first steps towards the greatest performance of his life. The world will get to know this kid, and never, ever forget him when he finally makes it to opening night. Do you know what happened to this kid, Bobby?"

Joker raised the rifle and aimed it at Robert's head, chuckling.

"H-he b-became you."

"Bingo! You're so clever. Your family will be so proud…" Joker pulled the trigger. The recoil was in the hunting rifles was hard enough to thrown him off balance momentarily. When he recovered his level he noted the bullet had sprayed blood and brain matter on the post and ground by entering from the right side. He shook his head in disapproval; it was supposed dead center. "I think I cracked your shell…Egg-head." He laughed and fumbled in his jacket retrieving a joker card.

"Not today, my friend. You've been my only faithful companion all these years but today I drive alone. I grew up, see? I can kill all by myself..." Kissing the card he placed it back on his pocket. He swung the rifle over his shoulder and exited the barn, whistling a tune. At the door, he searched his pockets and grabbed some of the marble grenades and tossed them into the building. They exploded with a bright white flare and he could see smoke starting to escape through the door. Flames quickly became visible fluttering inside and he remembered what had been so funny when his house burned down.

_It was early in the morning in the spring; he remembered now. His mother was in another of those long stays at the hospital and his father had spent another night with his friends and last time he checked, he was still placidly sleeping the whiskey in his bed room. Jack (that was his name then), who had just turned fifteen a few days ago, had gotten up early and gone to the kitchen where he turned on the gas stove, setting the burner on high. He grabbed his backpack and secured it over his shoulder; everything he will ever need was in there, set a few towels on top of the burner and walked out of the house. He went into the barn and up the stairs to the second level. Through a small window he got into a small ledge that was part of the gutter system and walked over the roof's edge to a small platform on the north end where he sat. He had the best seat looking at his house. He searched into his back pack and got a chocolate bar, and after unwrapping it and, took a bite. He loved the sweet taste of chocolate, it made him warm and cozy and extremely happy. That is when he saw the smoke from the kitchen and in a matter of minutes, flames poured from the lower level windows. Hmmm… and the chocolate felt so nice and sweet. Jack was in heaven. He could smell the wood burning, and see the house glow. Dark grey smoke started to shift in the wind towards the east. After about an hour the entire house was engulfed in flames and he heard a loud explosion. The house creaked loudly and started to shift slightly. That kitchen wall must have been a structural element, he thought. The slate gray colored walls started to turn into charcoal black and the flames were starting to peek from the second floor and the roof. A thick column of dark smoke was now raising high into the sky. Jack took another bite of the bar and cupped his ears for any sound from the house. Nothing else could be heard but the wood creaking, twisting under the crackling flames, and no one but he had left the house. That is when he started laughing. It was an uncontrollable feeling of glee, to know that he finally had outsmarted the old man. He would never know what happened to him; he never saw it coming. That was the definite punch line. Jack laughed loudly and and the clown woke up…_

Outside, the day had started to die, the sun was setting behind the horizon and the clouds glowed in a festival of gold, orange and red. The barn will soon contribute with its own hot crimson hues once the fire had completely engulfed it. He breathed deeply and walked to his SUV whistling when the sound of a phone ringing caught his attention. He tried to remember the tune he was whistling but all he could hear was the insisting ringing of the damn cell phone. The ringing was distracting and God, that really annoying. Joker frowned and approached the truck. He opened the door and found the ringing cell phone on the dash board. He picked it up and smashed it against the truck, and the small pieces crumbled onto the floor. Silence, oh sweet silence. The only sound now was the crackling flames coming from the barn. Joker smiled and walked to his SUV remembering the tune he was playing and started humming gleefully.


	5. Revelations from the Past and the Future

Disclaimer1: Batman and related characters belong only to DC COMICS. My only character is Michael Garibaldi...copyrighted... blah, blah, blah...Please, treat him with care.

Disclaimer2: Some scenes are intended for mature audiences. Viewer discretion is adviced.

BETA READER: The Great KICHI...

Enjoy!

Chapter 5: REVELATIONS FROM THE PAST AND FOR THE FUTURE

"Master Bruce, your tea." said Alfred, setting the tray on top of the

table by the main console.

"Alfred, why hasn't he started already?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"The Joker. It's been almost ten days and I haven't heard from him.

"He is probably still hiding," answered the butler pouring some tea into

a cup. He threw one sugar cube into the cup and mixed it briskly. "Joker

has always been a coward clown."

"Not his style. He is obsessed with the Batman. He normally doesn't

waste time trying to catch my attention. He has to be planning something

big."

"Personally sir, his last escape was less than spectacular and I would

not be surprised if the Joker left town for a while. That

pathetic escape is obviously an indication that his resources are not

what they used to be.

"Pathetic escape that left eight dead. That fits in the Joker's

standards Alfred. And he would not leave, the Batman is a good reason to

stay."

"Any word on the streets, sir?"

"No. Except someone is offering a lot of money to work in the

entertainment industry."

"Entertainment industry?"

"Yes. And seeing where the rumors are starting, I would say it has

nothing to do with the real entertainment industry. They need extras,

actors, and strong men for more than just movies, Alfred. I think that

is the Joker trying to hire muscle."

"If that's so… maybe someone could infiltrate into one of these so-called

auditions?"

"I already tried," answered Bruce taking a sip of tea. "I sent Robin to

three of the places where the auditions were to take place, and the

locations were empty. Not even a speck of dust left there. Someone is

covering their tracks very carefully."

"Then it is a matter of time."

"That's what I'm afraid of Alfred. He is planning something big and I

will not have enough time to prepare for it." The noise of a motorcycle

attracted their attention.

"Hey, Bruce, Alfred." said Robin dismounting the bike and removing the

helmet. "That other location was clean too. But I found something

interesting. I overheard some thugs complain how they were not allowed

to go to the auditions because they did not receive an invitation. Since

when acting auditions are closed to the public and only by invitation?"

"Since the Joker is the one organizing them?" answered Alfred offering a

saucer. "Tea, Master Drake?"

"Did you find out who is extending the invitations?" asked Bruce.

"I heard the nickname 'Blip'. Sound familiar to you?"

"Sounds like a hacker name. I'll run it over the computer and see what

comes up. You better get some rest, Tim. I need to attend that lecture at

the museum tomorrow. I'll stay up a little longer working on that lead."

"Master Bruce, if I may remind you, tomorrow you are supposed to meet

with the stock holders at Wayne Enterprises."

"Alright, Alfred. I promise it will not take long."

Joker was satisfied with the results of his little pilgrimage to the old

property. There had been no house, but his estates still held some little

secrets buried within. If he had only had more time to unearth more of

those treasures it would have been ideal. But Robert's presence had

forced him to move fast, before some pigs searching for the Egg-head

could spoil all the fun. A few of the memories came back to him, some

of them hurting, others just had no meaning, while others were just…

peachy. The feeling he could not shake was the smell of whiskey and

brandy that the vision of the man in the barn had imbued in his nose.

The smell of the liquor was stuck to him, as if he was carrying a bottle

with him. It had been so vivid, so strong that it had made his stomach

turn, and he understood his aversion for liquor. It was just a repulsive

habit; it clouded your judgment and left a depressing feeling behind.

It was no fun when you were drunk.

Still there were other things he wanted to do on the property. He

remembered burying other things all over the land, especially close to

the club house he had built not too far from the barn. He realized that

burying things had become a habit in his life. That was the reason why

it was so easy to shut everything off and just let the madness engulf

him- just like the Batman had been engulfed by his. It had been so

easy to just forget and let someone else take the reigns of his life…

One of the things he was looking forward to finding was an old derby hat

he had bought from a pawnshop. It was a little old, patched here

and there, but it was just like the one he had seen Chaplin wear in his

movies. Finding it would have brought fond memories. In his mind he saw

a young boy impersonating the great Chaplin, wobbling

around like a penguin, and making his cousin Melvin laugh at his antics.

He smiled with glee...he always impersonated a great Chaplin...

/Then the dark figure showed up and hit him in the back of the head,

causing him to fall to the ground. His hat had fallen from his head and was

now resting a few feet from him. The dark man stepped on the hat,

reducing it to a flat piece of felt./

/"What are you doing, boy?" He heard the dark man say, his eyes small

and red. His shirt unbuttoned, his undershirt wrinkled and

dirty. There was a strong smell of brandy in the air. /

/"J-just playing, Pa." answered the boy almost in a whisper./

/"How many times have I told you to stop playing these stupid games?

You're wasting your time when you could be helping me around the house."

replied the man giving a mean eye to Melvin who just looked back at him

with a silly smile./

/"But I cleaned my room and the kitchen already..."/

/"It's hard enough to have to work long hours in the factory then I come

back to the house to find more work to do. You could do more to help me,

especially with your mother in the hospital."/

/"I'm sorry, dad." Jack answered standing up. The man hit him again on

the head. Jack stumbled and fell to his knees, holding his head in his

hands./

/"You better be. Now go back to the house and eat your dinner." The boy

got up from the ground and started to run towards the house, when the

dark man grabbed him by the hair. "Not so fast, boy. Just because you've

been wasting your time, you're doing the dishes tonight and

I don't want to see you playing with Melvin again, that clear?"/

/"Yes, dad." The man let him go and he rushed back into the house, into

the dining room, and sat at the table. Outside he could hear

Melvin crying and screaming while a woman yelled something he couldn't

understand and his father answered back. The meaning of the words lost

in his slurred speech. The door slammed closed and the boy quickly

started gulping down the cold spaghetti in his dish. The man appeared in

front of him, glaring furiously. Jack swallowed hard./

/"Go to your room."/

/"But, dad…"/

/The man slammed his hand across Jack's face making him fall off the

chair. /

/"This is the last time you ridicule me in front of my sister and her

retarded son. Your room…NOW!"/

/"I'll kill…"Jack started to say under his breath, rising from the floor.

With his hand he held his face and tears started to fall down his cheeks./

/"What did you just say?" the man snarled, lifting his hand again. Jack

cowered and quickly sprinted towards his room./

That's when Joker saw the two headlights heading directly towards him. A

Quick survey let him know that he had swerved into the opposite lane and

those lights were the oncoming traffic. He corrected quickly, while the

other vehicle passed him within a few inches honking his horn all the

way. That had been a close one. What was wrong with him? He could have

caused a serious accident. He checked the road ahead and behind him.

Everything seemed clear. No police cars in the vicinity. He sighed

in relief, then heard his cell phone ringing.

"Hello."

"Hey, Dad it's me, Blip calling to update. I'm having trouble here at

home with the job openings and the local fauna."

It took him a moment to realize Blip's cryptic message. "Don't tell me,

flying mice? Did you make sure he couldn't track you?"

"Yes, don't worry about that, but we lost the car and it's gonna take me

a little time to get another one. Man,that thing scared the shit out of

me; it was huge. I was able to shoo 'im off, but don't know for how

long… Also, the recruitment phase is going very slow, a young bird seen

in the area."

"They're too close…Forget the recruitment phase for now, Blip, just

disappear, alright? I'll take care of the vermin when I get home. I

don't need you to be bitten by a rabid bat now." Joker laughed softly.

It was so fun to speak in code... "What about your homework?"

"The homework is almost complete. I'm waiting on some equipment I

ordered and have to work in the details of the language, and don't

forget to get me the codes. There is also a piece of equipment that I

would like to get when you come back."

"Keep up the good work, and we'll go shopping for your equipment. As for

the codes… I'll work on it when I return."

"What about you… any idea when are you coming home?"

"Soon, if I don't kill myself first." Joker cackled.

"What?" Blip sounded concerned.

"Oh, probably a day or two, I don't know. Things to see, places to go,

people to kill. Don't you worry about me, son, just make sure you eat

your veggies and don't talk to strangers; especially bats, OK?"

"OK. Talk to you later."

It was late, and he was so hungry he could hear his stomach grumble. The

little episode in the barn had made him skip his lunch and he didn't

remember having breakfast that morning either. He saw a few restaurants

by the road, but detested the idea of eating in. Just the idea of

bringing too much attention to himself made him decided to just pick

something quick in a drive-thru and find a place to crash. He saw a

McDonalds and smiled. He loved those Happy Meals.

After he bought his food, he drove for a few more minutes, without

finding a single hotel, or lodge, and the smell of the food was starting

to get to him. There was an empty dilapidated shopping center with a

large parking lot. He pulled over and parked the car, thanked himself

for the food and started eating.

In the middle of his meal, he heard a knock on the window. An old man on

his late fifties was looking at him, his eyes affixed on his food. His

clothes looked old and ragged. He cracked the window open.

"How may I help you, my friend?" he said showing his largest smile.

"Could you spare me a dollar?"

"You guys don't ask for quarters any more, do you?" He fumbled on the

pockets of his jacket. "Here, have a ten and leave me alone." That is

when he saw the barrel of a hand gun pointing through the cracked

window, directly to his head.

"Step out of the car," said a second man, dressed in dirty camouflage

gear and holding the gun at his head.

"You must be kidding me." said Joker still smiling.

"I said, step out of the car."

"You guys are way out of your league, you know that?" Joker chuckled and

opened the door of the vehicle. The gunman pulled him out forcefully.

"Shut up and give me your wallet." The man searched the pockets in the

Joker's jacket.

"Hey, that tickles!"

"Shut up and give me the fucking money."

"And if I say no?" The guy with the gun looked at the older man behind

him nervously. The old man shrugged. "Oh, boy! Don't tell me. Amateurs?"

"Shut up clown or I'll feed you some lead."

"Cliché. You must've flunked the mugging class. And how did you know I

was a clown?" said Joker starting to laugh when suddenly he felt dizzy,

unstable on his feet and fell to his knees. Something warm was running

down his left temple and he was experiencing a severe headache. He

hardly saw what happened but he felt the after shocks of the blow. The

man with the gun was a few inches from his face screaming.

"Who's laughing now, mutha'fucka'? Who's laughing now?"

"Not me… I need an aspirin…," answered Joker slowly getting up with some

effort.

"No kid' in'? Now give me the fuckin' wallet and car keys or I'll kill you."

"If you insist… I'll give it to you." Joker's boutonniere spurted a

stream of acid fell on the gunman's face and chest.

"Arrrgh!! What the fuck! God! That burns like hell!" The man

screamed, in obvious distress, dropping the gun while his shirt was

dissolving away with part of his skin.

"Oops, sorry. Leaky flower, let me help you," said Joker with a broad

smile and pulling the gunman close to him by the nape. There was one

muffled gunshot and the man slowly slid down to the ground. Joker aimed

his .38J at the older burglar and giggled. "Hi there. Said your

prayer's, grandpa?"

The man started running away. Joker pulled the trigger and the man fell

to the ground in agony. Confirming the presence of enough bullets

in his gun, and making sure the silencer was firmly placed on the barrel,

Joker started walking toward the old man. His head was still pounding from

the blow.

"Please don't kill me, I told 'im it wasn't a good idea. He didn't

listen." The old man said pushing himself away from the grinning man

with the gun.

"But you still wanted a piece of the clown, right?" said the Joker

waving the gun in the man's face while laughing. "Grandpa, you just

messed with the wrong clown tonight. And for my next trick, I'm gonna

blow your head off." Joker let out a cackle that resonated in the

emptiness of the parking lot while the old man was now crawling on all

fours trying to get away from him. "You know how long it's been since I had

the pleasure of killing someone? You just made my night, grandpa."

"Oh, God, don't shoot. He just wanted to become a Leopard, I tried to

stop 'im. Have mercy."

The grinning man just stared at him, his head cocked slightly and the

gun still aimed at the old man's head. "Become a leopard…and they say

I'm crazy. What the heck is that supposed to mean? Is this some type of

zoo brotherhood, lycanthropy syndicate..?"

"It's a local gang, the largest on this side of town."

"Really?" Joker was smiling as the old man started to cry.

"Please, I'll do anything, just don't shoot me."

"My lucky friend," said Joker squatting by the old man and extending his

arm around him like he'd known him since the beginning of time. "I feel

magnanimous tonight so listen carefully. You take me to your boss and

you might live to drink some more booze tomorrow. What do you think?"

"Are you serious?"

"I never joke." said Joker smiling wide.

"But you shot Malcolm, and you shot me…"

"Getting even for the bump on my head, that's all. And superficial

injures like this one.." Joker slapped the man's injured leg, and the

man protested with a moan. "Hurt like hell, but don't kill. Believe me,

if I wanted you dead, you'd be having a job interview with Saint Peter

now. Can you drive?" The man nodded. Joker took a handkerchief from his

pocket and applied a rudimentary compression bandage and helped the old

man get up and walk back to his car.

From the parking lot, they drove another twenty minutes around the

center of the city. Almost all of the streets had been revamped, and

the look of the city was very different from the small rural town

he had remembered. If anybody offered Joker money to identify where in

the world he was, he would not be able to answer in a million years. He

knew he would need a GPS system if he wanted to leave this town.

During the whole trip, the old man had been more forgoing with information

Joker learned that the old man's name was Richard, but everybody

called him Ricky, and he had been with the gang only a few months. He

used to be a bum and even though he was not officially a member of

the gang, the group had used his services as well as those of his late

friend Malcolm- for small jobs around the city. Not a lot of money

according to Ricky, but enough to get around. And the smell of stale

brandy on the man's breath confirmed that he had also been successful in

keeping his vices on such a limited budget. The Clown Prince also

discovered that Malcolm's point was to impress the leader of the pack in

the organization- whom he called the Grand Leopard- to officially join

them and, with time, climb the ladder of authority. He wouldn't be

climbing any ladder tonight, unless it was the stairway to Heaven,

thought Joker; unable to control a guffaw.

Ricky had told him about the Leopards being one of three gangs fighting

for the control of the drug traffic in the city. The Leopards were the

largest, but war in the streets was fierce. Joker's eyes sparkled with

joy. These people might be interested in a change of environment and

maybe a corporate merging; anything to take them away from this town in

the middle of nowhere. It was time to throw the bait in the piranha

tank. Joker explained he came from Gotham, in search of the most

powerful crime lords to join forces in a mutually profitable commercial

endeavor for an underworld big wig. Ricky's eyes were alight with

greed…good. That meant the Leopards would be interested too. They would

receive him with a red carpet and a band to make the

highly anticipated offer.

They finally arrived to a small area of town with some run-down

buildings and little shops that looked more abandoned than alive.

There was a small movie theater that had the windows and doors

boarded. The wood panels had graffiti painted all over, with various

symbols that even he could not identify. But in one of them, he saw the

face of what seemed a large, stylized cat. He remembered this theater. A

long time ago it was open and alive and nights were filled with laughter and

good comedy. When he was younger he had snuck in during the rehearsals

many times to hear the stand up comedians doing their routines. That's when

he fell in love with the craft. Gee! That had been ages ago, and once more he

was here. Life really made weird turns.

They drove past the main entrance through a small alley and went to park

in the back of the building. From the shadows, a black man carrying a

military issue uzi appeared and pressed the tip of the gun barrel

against the driver's window. Another armed shadow appeared on the

Joker's side.

"I'll take care of that, if you don't mind," Ricky signaled Joker to give

him the gun and lower the windows. Joker was not happy when he complied.

He did not like to feel against the wall, but right then had to play the

cards he was handed. He wondered if these people knew the Joker's wild.

The clown Prince smiled timidly. Ricky yelled to the one with the Uzi.

"He's with me, it's OK."

The man disappeared into the darkness once again, like a ghost… no,

more like a bat. They finally parked in the theater and after killing

the engine, Ricky and Joker got out of the car and walked to the back of

the theater. Security in this place was tight. There were shadows

lurking everywhere carrying heavy artillery and those souls

visible were staring intently at the pair as they entered the building.

Inside the building the light was bright, and even accentuated with red,

blue, and green bulbs. A few men were sitting on a large table organizing

what seemed like some packets of drugs into bundles. The men got up,

drawing their large guns as they saw Ricky and the stranger come in.

Ricky waved his hand and the guys sat back down, their guns still in

their hands. There was another group that had been playing cards and had

stopped to watch them as they passed. Joker waved the peace

sign at them. A few paces ahead they were received by a very large

black man, probably a whole foot taller than Joker himself. He was wearing navy

blue Dockers that were twice his size, a very tight tee that outlined

the heavy musculature underneath, and he carried a very large rifle in his

hands.

"Rick, you know the rules with strangers, man. Nobody allowed 'less

Jerry approves." The large man noted the obvious limp in the old man's

gait. "Wha' happened to you, man?"

"A little misunderstanding." Ricky responded eyeing Joker beside him.

Joker smirked and tried to look harmless. "Jake, I know I shouldn't have

brought him, but he says he comes from Gotham with something Jerry might

be interested in. You wouldn't believe how he got rid of Malcolm." Ricky

handed the keys to the Tahoe and lastly, the .38. "Look at this beauty."

The big guy approached Joker. He looked like a large black mountain of

muscle. Jake examined the gun in his hand "Nice piece. So yo' snuffed

Malcolm, uh, Slim?"

"Yes, very rude and amateurish if you ask me, big guy. I wouldn't miss

him if I was you." responded Joker looking up into the man-mountain's

black eyes showing his best smile. He wondered if one could feel vertigo

from up there. "You need to be more selective when hiring muscle, bro."

Another man entered the room. This one was in his thirties and was

wiping his hands; around him a fresh aroma of cologne and shaving cream.

He was followed by a lady in dark tight shirt and slacks. "What's up,

boys?" Ricky approached the man like a dog approached his master after

having peed in the house. Joker could hear them talking in a

whisper. "So you killed Malcolm?"

"There must be an echo in this place, because I'd swear I just answered

that question to mountain man here." said Joker, nonchalantly while he

noticed that everybody around him held their weapons firmly in their

hands, but with a very nervous finger on the trigger. The man signaled

everybody to calm down while he gave a broad smile.

"I like this guy, /'tiene unos cojones bien grandes'," the man said

applauding softly. Joker immediately took a bow and the man-mountain

showed a hint of a smile. "That Malcolm was a pain in my ass for the

longest time Mr. …?"

"Kerr. Joseph Kerr."

"Sure, Mr. Kerr. My name is Jerry Santos and they call me the Grand

Leopard 'round here." The man stopped hoping his words would make an

impression on the stranger, but Joker remained impassive. "Though I

appreciate you taking care of him for me, I don't appreciate you coming

to my house uninvited. My boys and I are very selective when picking our

visitors."

"So I heard, but let me assure you Jerry, my man, I would not have come

here if I didn't have an offer you and your boys were gonna kill for. By

the way nice little joint you have here. Lot's of style."

"Thanks. So Mr. Kerr, what is this offer you have? It better be good or

you're leaving here… feet first." Mountain man pointed the rifle

at the Clown Prince.

"Cute, very cute. Don't you want to discuss this somewhere… more

private, and less threatening?" asked Joker looking around at all the

men that held their guns tightly in their hands, and the barrel that

Mountain man was aiming at his head.

"Usually I handle business openly, Mr. Kerr, but if you insist- follow

me to the office."

Jerry motioned Joker to the small room next door and he followed.

The office was very compact in size but

decorated impeccably. On the far end, there was a wooden desk that had a

small Tiffany-styled lamp and about half a dozen motorcycle models.

In the corner, by the desk was a black Harley Davidson jacket hanging

from a perch. The whole room was painted in a soft blue color and had

framed pictures of motorcycle riders. In one of the pictures Joker would

swear he had identified Jerry with some of the men from the common room.

"Well, Mr. Kerr, what business do you have with the Leopards?"

"Do you actually ride one of those?" Asked Joker absentmindedly pointing

to one of the pictures where Jerry was sitting on a red and chrome

Harley Davidson.

"Yes, but let's not stray from business."

"Amazing! I don't think I could. It looks like a powerful machine."

"Mr. Kerr, please!"

Joker frowned and puffed. He did not like to be yelled at. "Business,

always business and no fun. All right, have you heard of the Joker before?"

Jerry looked behind him to the lady in black and shrugged.

"That lunatic from Gotham, the one that dresses up like a clown." said

the lady in black. Lovely voice; empty head. Joker glared at her.

"Yes, yes, so what about him?"

"Well, I'm here on his behalf because your little boy's club has caught his

attention," Joker started explaining while looking disdainfully

at the lady in black, "and has noted talent within your group, and wished

to extend an invitation to work for him in Gotham."

"We are very happy here Mr. Kerr. As you can see we run our business

very smoothly. Why would we want to move to Gotham?"

"For one, bigger city. There is plenty of room for your… business there.

Second, you'll be working for one of the greatest criminal masterminds

of all time, a genius ahead of his time."

"The Joker is insane, Mr. Kerr. You're working for a demented

psychopath." said the Lady in black coming closer to him. This lady was

starting to rub him the wrong way.

"Mr. Kerr. Let me introduce to you to Charley Almeida." Jerry said

extending a hand to the lady in black. He kissed her softly on the top

of the hand. "She takes care of the security around here, very talented

lady."

Joker's eyes narrowed and he forced a smile. "That's what he wants

everybody to believe, my dear Princess. The truth is that he's very

clever man; he has vision and a lot of power, investments all over the

east coast and overseas, trading of all kinds. You might even be dealing

with some his trades right now for all I know."

"The man spends most of the time locked up in an Asylum. Please, Mr.

Kerr! You expect us to believe you?" said Charley pacing around him and

smiling. He had been patient, but now he really wanted to slit her

throat. Where was that knife..?

"I can sense reluctance to change, Jerry." said Joker without taking

his eyes off Charley. He thought of emptying his .38J on her head after

he slit her throat. That would erase that smile from her face. "I know

change can be scary, but this kind of change is good."

"Change, like business, is good as long as it's profitable." Jerry said.

"True, and that is the reason I'm here. The powerful Mr. Joker would

like to offer you a partnership, an alliance of sorts. Your services, in

exchange for Gotham City."

"Your boss is offering the entire city?" Interjected Jerry. Joker noted

greed glowing in his brown eyes. "Now that's an unusual offer."

"Not so unusual when the Joker knows how hard it is to find good

criminal material, if you excuse the irony."

"The Joker does not own the city, Mr. Kerr." interjected Charley.

"Au contraire, mon cherie. Just ask anyone in the city who the Joker is

and they'll tell you he's the boss in town, and nobody messes with the

boss." Joker folded his arms and turned to the walls where he continued

looking at the photographs.

"Mr. Kerr, if you came here to make fun of us…"

"Fun?" Joker turned around to look at Jerry. "My dear sir, I

came here with the Joker's best intentions of doing business. If you

think this is a joke maybe I should take my offer and try it in another

pair of ears. I'm sure the Caesars or the Highlanders will be more

interested in what I have to say."

Mountain man aimed his rifle at the Joker once more and the Clown Prince

was almost sure that this time he was going to die right there on the spot.

Sometimes he just got carried away with words so easily that he said

the weirdest things. To his relief Jerry signaled the man to lower his

weapon and got up from the desk, walking closer.

"You don't talk like that in here Mr. Kerr. We are a proud group and we

take our pride very seriously."

"My apologies if my words sound harsh, but for the most powerful gang in

Brenton, you're letting the offer of a lifetime pass you by. Are you

crazy, mentally disabled, or just plain dumb? " Joker smiled wildly. "Was it

acquired or you people were born like that?"

Jake's grip on the rifle tightened. Jerry stared directly into

Kerr's eyes. The man's eyes where trying to read the message behind the

Joker's words. This could either be the coup de grace or just the

Clown's last words, and they were going to be memorable. Jerry burst into

laughter and put a hand on the Joker's shoulder while looking at the

rest of the gang. Nobody else was smiling.

"I REALLY like this guy! There has to be more to your boss than his

psychotic reputation if he hires men like you. Fearless!" Jerry walked

over to his desk and pushed himself up. "This is quite an interesting

offer you bring, Mr. Kerr. Are you sure your boss knows what he's

offering? He wouldn't play games with us, would he?"

"Of course the main man knows ma' boy, and please don't call him a

psychotic. It's enough when the media has already damaged his reputation

by calling him a nutcase. Joker thinks it's a fair maneuver to make some

sacrifices in exchange for hiring only the best of the best."

"What about my operations here in Brenton?" asked Jerry. Joker shrugged.

"Keep them if you want, but believe me, things are going to look so fine

for you and your boys, that you might even consider moving to Gotham

permanently. Property is very cheap due to the high crime rate."

"Does this deal include the Batman, Mr. Kerr?" interjected Charley.

Joker thought of how much pain he could inflict if he peeled all that

fair skin, strip by strip off her body, then gave her a broad smile.

"We have a pest control company looking into the problem."

"Lots of things to consider, Mr. Kerr. I'm sure you understand that this

is a decision that requires a lot of consideration. In the meantime, can

we offer you a little bit of Leopard hospitality?" Jerry extended an arm

around Joker's shoulders. "Where are you staying for the night?

"I need to get to a hotel, but if you have recommendations…"

"You can stay here if you want. Be my guest, it will be an honor." Joker

looked at him suspiciously. "Please Mr. Kerr. We have plenty of space

here. It will not be a problem to accommodate you. It's not every day we get

important visitors from Gotham, you know?"

The Clown Prince smiled politely. "Can I have my gun back?"

Jerry laughed. "Now Mr. Kerr, I don't see a reason why…"

"Pretty please. We're very close. She's never spent a night by herself,

and I'm only half the man without her. I would like my keys too if you

don't mind. I promise not to run away with the maid…" He grinned.

Jerry looked at the mountain man, then to the lady in black. They both

shrugged and he signaled the large man to return everything. Once in his

hands, Joker kissed the gun tenderly several times before putting it

back in the holster inside his jacket. "I think I'll stay. As a sign of

the Joker's good intentions."

"Alright, that settles it." said Jerry while looking at Joker strangely.

"Charley, please escort Mr. Kerr to the guestroom upstairs, would you

sweetie?" He then walked over to the mountain man and started to speak

in Spanish.

Joker followed the lady in black out of the office, and up a spiral

staircase, up to the mezzanine of the theater. It was a large hall that

connected with several doors. Charley opened one of the doors and

offered the Joker in.

"No, ladies first."

"Are you always like this, Mr. Kerr?" asked Charley entering the room

and turning the lights on. It was a small room, no more than sixty

squared feet with one single bed and a night stand. The room had a

curtained window where he could see the streetlights and the cars moving

through. The walls were covered with what seemed like red velvet and

there was a small antique desk with a small Tiffany style lamp on top.

The floor was clean gray linoleum, and covered with an area rug of

1940's floral style. The room looked cozy and comfortable. Joker felt at

home.

"Like what?" said Joker following her into the room; by now he was

imagining her as a rotted corpse covered with maggots.

"You seem to be a very happy man. You have not stopped smiling since you

arrived, and at the same time there is something very particular about

you. What you did down there took a lot of courage, and you speak as if

you where the one calling the shots."

"I am unique, that's true. But don't say it again or I'll blush. And

life's been good to me, made me very sure of myself." He giggled.

"Has it, Mr. Joe… Kerr?" He raised an eyebrow, trying to look

interested, but he was really annoyed and he folded his arms over his

chest making sure he made contact with his revolver.

"Aren't we the clever one? Would that be a problem?"

"Not really, unless you're planning on pulling that gun and shooting me?

Or maybe that's just a figment of my imagination?"

"Was I that obvious, sweetie?" Charley nodded with a soft smile. "Well,

you were the one calling people names back there. That is quite rude,

you know?"

"Really? But your face has this funny twitch when I mention the Batman."

Joker eyes glowed with fury as the pulled out his gun. Charley quickly

got out of sight and next thing he knew something hit his hand making

him loose grip of the gun. Joker felt something hit hard against his

chest. He lost his balance and fell on his back. Joker saw his gun a few

feet away and tried to reach it but Charley landed top of him, pinning

his body and left arm against the floor under her weight and

holding down his right. He fought against her hold, but the lady could

hold him down just as easily as the flying rat. She was really strong.

"You're tag." Charley said laughing. "Do we get to play again?"

"You're… wrinkling my clothes. Can you get off me now, please?" Joker

said offering her those green puppy eyes of his.

"Are you going to be naughty?"

"Me? Never. I'm just an angel disguised as a clown." Charley got off him

and offered him a hand to get up. He pushed her hand away doing it

himself. "Isn't it enough that I have been insulted and subdued by a woman?"

"I'm not your average girl, Mr. Joker. I am trained in several styles of

martial arts and I'm an excellent marksman. I kind of suspected who you

were since you started talking, and your behavior confirmed it. Have to

admit though, you look crazier on TV." Joker just grimaced and stuck his

tongue out.

"I'm not impressed, but that disappearing trick is kind of cool. You'll

have to teach me that one, and don't believe all that the media says.

It's all a publicity gimmick." Joker straightened his clothes and picked

his gun from the floor. "Well, now that the cat is out of the bag, what

are you going to do about it? I don't think women can keep a secret like

this for too long."

"I'm hurt, Mr. J."

"Well, we're even, bitch." Joker pulled the trigger on his gun and a

bright yellow banner with BANG written across in red popped loudly. "I

don't take it kindly to being called a demented psychopath either. I'm

more of a man of vision… broad vision of what entertainment should be

like… call it Joker-vision if you want but its coming to a town near you."

He started to laugh loudly, his cackles resonating all over the room

when he remembered he was supposed to be incognito. He stopped laughing

and looked at Charley; what the heck! He thought. If this uncontrollable

guffaw didn't give away his identity, then this girl would, and he started

to laugh again.

"I can see it coming, Mr. J," said Charley coming closer to him and

setting an arm around his shoulders. Joker cackles started to soften

almost to an imperceptible giggle. "But please, tell me why have you

REALLY come to Brenton? Just to hire a whole group of nobodies when you

probably have a lot people dying to work with you in your hometown…

makes no sense. You reward your employees very generously, I've heard

the stories, but I know there is something else beyond that smile of yours."

"People dying to work for me? Ha! Funny you should say that." Joker put his gun

away and tried to recount how many people have died for him lately… he

lost count if he included the ones that had died by his own hand… "I've

been working with idiots all my life, and there's nothing but idiots in

the Gothamite gene pool. Where has that taken me..? I need intelligent

fresh blood to pump some positive energy into my little club."

"Intelligent help is not going to be cheap, Joker, especially if you

want them to work in a city that has a masked vigilante."

"Money is not an issue. I can be extremely generous to a good,

hardworking staff with fully functional brains, capable of following

orders… There are things more important in this world than money, you

know? And don't let the vigilante steal away your sleep, sweetie,

he will be taken care off in due time."

"So I take it you'll be the one taking care of the flying rat."

"But of course… who else but good ol' me, it's my destiny, Princess. But

don't blink or you'll miss it." Joker giggled.

"And how much are you willing to invest in this little alliance between

the Leopards and the Great Joker?"

"That's something I'll discuss with your boss, the … what is it you call

him?"

"The Grand Leopard."

"Yes, he's the one that needs to make the decision."

"Jerry is an idiot Mr. Joker, and I don't know… his health is not what

it used to be… maybe you should be talking to someone else about this."

Charley fixed Joker's bowtie and brushed his shoulder softly with her hand.

"Mountain Man?" said Joker with an evil sneer while Charley frowned. He

knew exactly how to annoy this ambitious lady and he loved to power

play. "Because last time I checked you're just Grand girlfriend of the

leader of the pack; oh, and the way he was looking at you… he better not

see us this close."

She covered his mouth with her hand and shushed him softly. "I don't

belong to any man Mr. Joker, and men are only as powerful as the women

they surround themselves with… Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Joker said retracting his hands to hold the lapel of his

jacket. "You don't have many boyfriends, do you? I don't think your

Leopard King is gonna appreciate that comment either. Man's pride."

"Jerry is a little involved in the old ways Mr. J. He has refused to

evolve with the times. This is a new world and women are empowered

nowadays."

"And ambitious too, I see."

"Glad you see it my way."

"You are a talented woman indeed, but I'm afraid you might be skipped

when the winds change. This is still a man's world you are dealing with.

Call me softy but I just hate to see good, talented staff wither away

in the background so I'm letting you know how things are. Hope you

understand…"

"You're good with words Joker, but I am not going to become the clown's

beautiful mistress."

"Ouch!" Joker put his hands over his heart. "No, you're getting me

wrong. My work doesn't allow me much free time for those pleasures and

besides, I must be too much to handle 'cause I tend to drive girls insane."

"So I've heard.," said Charley with a smile, heading towards the door.

"Bye now. We'll talk some more later."

"What, leaving me now when the conversation was getting all warm and

cozy?" Joker voice denoted certain sadness. "We have not even danced yet."

Charley just smiled and waved at him as she exited the room. Interesting

character this girl, thought Joker as he removed his jacket, letting it

down on the bed. This was starting to look more like your morning soap

opera than a regular business alliance but beggars can't be choosers. Oh

well, Joker thought, more power to the manly girl; and boy, she could

really punch and kick. He wondered if what a fight between her and

guano-man would look like… he'll probably have to bet on her.

Joker sighed and stretched. It had been an intense few days and jumping

into the Leopards was just the cherry on top of the ice cream… "Hm…

vanilla ice cream, I could kill for that…" whispered the Clown Prince

losing his line of thought. He giggled and walked over the window

overlooking the street below. One of the streetlights in the cornered

flickered very slightly as if winking at him. This was just peachy. He

needed to hire some muscle, and the Bat in Gotham had been poking his

large ears into Blip's recruitment efforts, bringing the whole thing to

a complete stop. These Leopards seemed powerful and well organized, with

the added bonus that they were far from the reach of the Bat and his

band of pigs. Joker had initiated the contact, and the little kitties

seemed interested in the offer of equal partnership. That did not

surprise him, who wouldn't want to work with a genius, especially if the

genius could make you rich? But convincing the whole gang to abandon

Brenton to work in Gotham was another story. He had to sugar these

people up a little bit more before he could have them eating from his

hand. That was going to be fun.

"And who the hell are you?" Joker asked his reflection in the window. "I

see you smiling but you're not laughing. Not having fun, Jack?"

"The smile is just skin deep. I will not laugh until the Bat is dead."

Said Joker solemnly.

"I don't like this mood. It's too depressing…ever heard of the healing

power of laughter?"

"I'm not… who you are. Laughing is so damn hard when the memories just

take you down to Painville, Joker. I am…who I was and what I was…" Joker

pressed his hand against the cold window glass. "…is so confusing now.

This pain…not funny…it hurts. It's…"

"Its driving you insane," retorted Joker angrily, "…stop thinking and

stop whining because you are driving ME insane."

"I'm not insane anymore… I'm just…I don't know…different. So many

emotions and I don't know how to deal with them."

"Not insane? Then why are you talking to your reflection in the window

in the third person, Jack? Feeling different, well, just look me in the

eye and tell me how many people you know that look like you? And don't

fool yourself; the hurting- that's just gas."

He started giggling uncontrollably, quickly turning into chortles. He

couldn't help it after all, he had not laughed like this in weeks. It

made him feel better; it always did. The pain…got better as he laughed;

each cackle louder than the one before, and he soon realized that if he

did not control himself, he'll wake up the entire gang downstairs. But

it felt so good to laugh again, to release the natural endorphins in the

brain and block that feeling that started to oppress his chest and his

brain ever since he started this journey. He put a hand over his mouth

and tried to relax, the laughter started to subside slowly.

"Oh boy, oh boy." He said between giggles. "These conversations between

my EGO and my ID are going to kill me one day. My wittle bwain is gonna

go Kablooie!"

Joker yawned and looked at his watch. Two in the morning. He needed to

lie down for a while and just rest, but not go to sleep. Every time he

fell asleep, something would pop into his mind and take control of his

actions. Were the images ghosts from the past, or simply the rambling

of a sick mind? He did not know, but what started as the occasional

flashback was now turning deadly, with him unable to control the

intensity or their regularity. Tonight he almost caused a fatal head-on

collision, what would happen tomorrow? The possibilities were not

encouraging.

Joker took his gun out and checked how many bullets were left.

Satisfied he then checked the silencer. He searched in the pocket of his

pants and felt he still had a few of his tiny marble-grenades. He could

still protect himself if anybody tried anything funny, and just rest.

Joker walked over to the bed and setting one of the pillows on his back,

sat against the headboard. He put his gun on his leg and held it firmly

with both hands. Taking a deep breath, he let himself relax and closing

his eyes he slowly drifted to slumber.


	6. Mad Love

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS. My only character is Michael Garibaldi, treat him with care.

Disclaimer2: Some scenes are intended for mature audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

Chapter 6: MAD LOVE

Arkham Asylum. Gotham City. Cell 6669

She wanted to become very small, enough to disappear from the entire world. Normally she would enjoy making fun of doctors, therapy and nurses but ever since he left, she had lost the joke. She sat in the corner of her cell knees raised with her arms wrapped around them and her head rested on her arms, as if trying to meld with the walls and the floor and become nothing. Life was not as funny anymore. If he was not around, if she could not hear his laughter, the truth is that she felt lost. "Where are you puddin'? I've been waitin' patiently here, but ya'r taking too long. Ah don' want to stay here no more."

"Harleen." A voice came from the other side of the acrylic door of her cell. She lifted her head and saw Margaret the security guard of the women section at Arkham. Margaret was accompanied by another guard she did not recognize at the moment. Must be a new girl Harley thought, since the turn over of guards in the asylum was so fast. Margaret was the only one always there, never judged her, never pushed her or mistreated her. It is almost as if she understood what she felt, what it meant to be deeply in love. She smiled softly and Margaret smiled back, but Harley quickly lowered her head and looked away from her. "It is time for your session with doctor Maratti."

"Ah don't feel like having therapy today, Margie" said Harley almost to a whisper.

"Maybe it will be best if you talked to Dr. Maratti. He wants to help you sort this out, talk to him."

"Why hasn't he come back for me, Margie? Not even a letter or a call. Nothing."

"Dr. Maratti…"

"Maratti doesn't care. The only thing that matters to 'im is that stupid book he wants to write about my Mistah J. and me." Harley lifted her head and looked at the security guard again. Her eyes red and swollen. "But you understand how I feel, right Margie?"

Margaret could only remain silent, but her eyes spoke volumes. It was true that Harley's relationship with the Joker was insane, and unhealthy but Margaret herself had been in love and knew that though irrational, love can hurt a lot too.

"Harley, it's not a choice. You need to attend your session."

"Tell 'em I'm sick. It's true. I'm heartbroken." Harley retorted busting into tears.

"Can't do Harley. Please don't make this more difficult than it is. "

Harley sighed deeply. She got up and turned to face the wall. She quickly put her hands in her back palms facing out. Margaret signaled the other guard to be attentive to what she responded taking the taser gun and pointing toward the prisoner. Margaret knew that she will never have any problem with Harley; she had never tried anything before. All the problems in the past have been from the Joker, either killing the guards or causing enough chaos and confusion to release Harley form the asylum. Harley, by herself was very quiet and cooperative, but there was a protocol to follow. Margaret put her thumb on the fingerprint reader and slid her ID card on the lock. She punched a code and the acrylic door opened. Walking over to Harley, Margaret applied the shackles to the Harley's hands and ankles. She slowly turned Harley around and helped her out of the cell and along the hall to the meeting room.

Inside the room, Dr. Maratti was already sitting at the desk, recorder set on the table and a legal pad in his hand. Harley had never liked Dr. Maratti. She always felt that all he wanted was to gather enough information to be able to write a book rather than really help her. She liked her previous doctor Anna Drille, Dr. D., like she used to call her, was someone she could relate to, but last year, in one of his escapes, Joker had lost it with her when he came to retrieve Harley. Dr. D. thought she could reason with him and convince him to surrender. She forgot that once Joker had set his mind on something there was no argument. Harley had learned that the hard way and so did Dr. D. Joker when shot her in the head. Joker was always so short tempered… Now she was stuck with Maratti which was close to useless, and this was going to be a very long session.

In the bat-cave Bruce was running in the computer a list of suspects. The common denominator for the list was previous associations with the Joker. Most of the names had a large DESEASED written on top of the picture, since most of the Joker's associates didn't live more than a few weeks or months at a time. For Joker there was a simple rule. If it's not useful, looked suspicious, or it was simply not funny then just kill it. And in the case of the Clown Prince of Crime, the turn over of staff was very fast, many of them killed by the Joker himself.

But there had to be someone who had seen the Joker lately. Joker had been able to escape the asylum many times on his own, but a man whose skin was white as a ghost, had wild green hair and bloody red lips extended in a permanent grin that looked more carved in his face than a natural smile needed someone to help him keep down his profile, or he would be arrested within hours of the escape. But who? Bruce kept checking the list, and those that he had not talked to were either diseased, in prison still or simply would have moved outside of Gotham in an effort to avoid the Batman and more importantly avoid the Joker himself.

It had been a little over a month ince the Joker had escaped and he knew that the body count was going to go high once the Joker decided to resurface. Why couldn't he keep that clown in Arkham for good? The man had over a two dozen life sentences to spend on his acrylic cell at the asylum, but he was able to escape apparently at will. That had to stop. Every time the Joker was out, people started to die, horribly around him. He was like a one man plague, but why was so difficult for him treat him like a disease and find a permanent cure? God knew that the maniac deserved to die, a thousand times over just to pay for half the suffering he had cause but his lawyers have always gotten away with his insanity plea. –Bullshit! Joker is just a cold blooded killer—Bruce murmured while he continued down the list and making notes every once in a while on his electronic tablet.

"Master Bruce," said Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's faithful butler and a friend to the family since before Bruce was born, "Hope I'm not interrupting something important."

"No, I'm just running a list of Joker's past associates still in town for the Batman to visit tonight." Alfred gave him a suspicious look, the butler was always disturbed when he heard Bruce Wayne speaking on third person about his alter ego the Batman.

"Good, because Jeremy Wilson is waiting for you upstairs to discuss the exhibition at Wayne Tech Industries.

"Damn," Bruce lifted from the chair and started collecting the material over the computer station. "Totally forgot about that meeting."

Alfred walked over to Mr. Wayne and started to clean the station himself. "You can leave the cleaning to me, sir. Don't want to keep Mr. Wilson waiting. You'll find all the documentation you need already on your studio desk and I'll be back promptly with some tea for you and your guest."

"Thanks Alfred, you are the best." Bruce ran down the stairs and disappeared quickly into the service cave exit.

"I know, I know." Murmured Alfred organizing the files, and electronic data equipment into a nice bundle by the keyboard and started to close all the windows in the monitor when he arrived at the one that started them all: the file on the Joker. The maniac's face was smiling perversely back at him. Alfred looked at the image in the monitor with obvious disdain, not able to control a frown. "I wish you would leave us in peace once and for all, clown, Stop haunting us." He clicked the screen and the window closed leaving the yellow background with the black bat.

"Harleen. Don't try to reverse the session." Yelled Maratti. "You are the one that do not understand. Joker does not feel anything for you. There is no reason for you to want him with you."

"You just don't understand him, no one understands him. He's so vulnerable and you people are fixed on attacking him all the time. You have no idea what it is to be him, and you can't see that he can also be so tender and caring… but what you know about that, he's just a psychopath to you!"

"Harleen, you are imagining all these feelings. He doesn't care for you or anybody else."

By this time, there were tears flowing like a river down her cheeks. Her blue eyes were affixed on Dr. Maratti with a combination of frustration and anger. She knew it did not matter if she argued the facts for over a century, no one will ever understand that this relationship was real. They will never understand those special moments she had spend with him, in silence, side by side, have spoken to her volumes of the important place she occupied on his heart. It was a relationship that transcended words. It even transcended the physical need. How to explain to these idiots, what it was to be with him? They could not even figure out how his gifted mind worked so what made them think they will understand how his heart operated. Harley frowned furiously.

"I think my time's up, doc."

"Harley, there is no need for this…"

"I wish to leave now."

Dr. Maratti tried to say something but realized it would be useless. When Dr. Harleen Quinzel's mind was set on something, there was nothing that will set her off track. The same was also true for Harlequin, the new persona she became, when she started associating with the Joker. Trying to continue the therapeutic session now would probably not yield any progress, she'll probably refuse to continue answering his questions. He nodded and pressed the button on the table that opened the communicator.

"Ladies, the session is over." The door opened and Margaret appeared accompanied with the other guard. Harley got up and turned towards them giving Dr. Maratti her back with a loud grunt. Margaret could see that Harley had been crying. She gently held Harley's arm and started to guide her to the door. Dr. Maratti stood up and started to clear the table when he interjected. "Ms. Quinzel, you are making a deadly mistake, hope you don't end up regretting it."

Harley stopped dead on her tracks. Margie held her tightly while the other guard put her hand over the taser gun.

"Maratti...DROP DEAD! And the name is Harley Quinn." Harley said furiously starting to walk again. All three abandoned the session room and headed toward the female ward. Margaret could feel the anger and disappointment emanating from her prisoner. She could even say she could feel her pain. When they entered the elevator; she felt the need to relate.

"Harleen…" 

"Drop it." Harley said dryly. She was sure no one will understand. Not even good old Margaret, so why waste her breath. She had to find a way to start sorting things by herself because here nobody could or would help her. She had the gut feeling that there was something really wrong and that the love of her life was in a terrible danger. How could she succeed on making them understand? It would be easier to get water from a rock. The best place to start finding answers was from the horse's mouth. She realized that the only answers she would get were going to be from either the Joker's henchmen and if she was lucky enough from the Joker himself.

The solution came to her as a revelation. There was only one person that could succeed on reaching the Joker's network and was probably already trying to by himself. It was going to be difficult and her 'puddin'" would probably never approve, but deep in her heart Harley felt it was the only way. She needed to save Joker from any harm at any cost because she would not forgive herself if anything happened to him; she'll do the unthinkable to save him and bring him back with her.

"Margie, please help me. I know how to bring Mr. J. back. I just need the Bat-brain, I mean, the Batman's help. Can you talk to him, tell him to come?"

"Whoa! Hold your horses Harley. What are you babbling about now?"

"I want to help Batman bring Joker back to the asylum safe. There's' something really wrong going on, and my puddin' is only safe if he's in here. You need to help me get the Batman.

ooooooooooooooooooo

_Jack was driving his tricycle down the German Quarter when he started to smell morning delicacies that the bakers were preparing in their shops to sell during the day. There was something about the sweet German pastries that made him feel comfortable, and homey. Three buildings down from the corner of Wildford and van Haussen he saw a big chicken, setting some eggs on a box. The overgrown bird was probably very old since most of his feathers were now goneHe did not remember seeing a chicken that large in his life but his mom had asked for some eggs and the chicken had the only store open in the quarter. _

_"Excuse me, Mr. Big Bird?" Jack said timidly when the chicken stopped what he was doing to look at him. He was about to ask for the eggs when the bird started pecking at him, feathers flying everywhere. Jack jumped off the tricycle to land in a puddle. He covered his head in fear when the attack suddenly stopped. He lifted his head ever so slightly to look from the corner of his eye. There was no chicken anymore._

_Then something liquid fell on top of him drenching him from top to bottom. He looked at his hands and his clothes now covered on a white gooey fluid. He looked up to the sky where the white liqud had come from and saw a gigantic bubble of purlple liquid heading towards him. Jack rose from the ground and started to run. The bubble of purple fluid busted against the ground and splashed him. Now he was covered in white and purple goo. He noticed more bubbles coming down on him and he kept running, he needed to get away, and fast. He was panting, exhausted, his legs hurt from all the running but he could not stop now. If his mother saw him like this, she'll be very dissapointed, she was not feeling well these days and it was not a good idea to make her angry. A large red bubble splashed in front of him and the force of the splash threw him to the ground. Some of the fluid splatterd on his mouth, this was not goo, this was blood... His eyes widened in terror and he rose terrified, ready to start running again with all he had when he heard a screeching sound. Jack looked up and saw a gigantic black bat, more tan ten feet long carrying a large bundle in a white blanket tightly on its feet. From the bundle, he could hear the soft cries of a baby.The bat was flying directly at him, the beast's eye like two pieces of fiery coal, his leathery wings producing a tempest as he flapped them. He heard a voice, deep in his head..._

_"What are you doing, Jack? Face him." Jack started to run away from the bat as fast as he could. Face what?-he thought- that thing? In your dreams...Jack heard the voice once more, deep guttural, almost like a growl. "Why are you running, you little piece of shit? Face the Bat... He's the enemy, kill the beast..."The voice started to laugh maniacally, "Are you a man or a clown, Jack? The boy stopped in his tracks. The bubbles of colorful liquid kept splashing all around him...now he was sporting a wild mane of green hair. He was angry... and he was not a coward... he needed to face this fear of the beast...Jack turned around and faced the large flying beast that was still after him. He fumbled in his clothes... there had to be something he could use against the beast. He then saw something glinting in the floor and he bent over to find a large rusted, sharp piece of metal . He looked up... the bat was almost on top of him... "Hey Batsy...come and share my pain." Jack yelled at the beast. He picked up the piece of metal and flung it will all his might towards the beast. The metal embeded itself into the bundle and through the Bat's right leg__. The animal howled in pain... and let go of the bundle of blankets._

_Jack's heart stopped. "No, oh God... what I've done...NO!" He yelled running towards the the falling bundle in an effor to catch it in midair. It was large, but he had to catch it before it hit the ground... THUD! Too late. The bundle hit the ground with such force that the earth under Jack tremble..."This can't be happening to me..." The impaled bundle quickly stained a dark crimsom color and thick red blood started to spread from the bundle reaching his feet. The crying and screaming stopped..._

_"Oh no. It was an accident, I swear...It's not my fault... Then the ground vibrated with a lound rumble and the sky cracked with the pieces starting to fall on him..."I didn't mean to..."_ He opened his eyes and rolled out of bed to the floor. He heard the rumbling again. The noise came from the pounding on the door and it made everything vibrate in the room including his bones. He looked around and remembered where he was and he realized it was already morning from the bright white light of the sun that permeated the room through the windows. He should have closed the curtains last night, but heck, he was not even supposed to have fallen sleep for so long either.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Stop that infernal noise." Joker answered as he rose from the floor with his left hand firmly holding his .38J as he opened the door. He peeked and saw the man-mountain standing there looking at him. "What do you want?"

"The boss wants a word wit' you. Come to the billiard room downstairs."

"Tell your boss I will be there when I am ready, and it's going to take a few minutes. Alright?" answered Joker closing the romm door. Today he was in one of his worst moods. Joker looked at his watch while he walked over to the small bathroom by th window and leaned over the sink. Fifteen past ten. He should have slept enough hours but still he felt exhausted, as if he had not slept in over a week. Joker shook his head. He will feel much better if only he could kill something, or someone… Jerry wanted to see him? Well, then he will have to wait to get the privilege of his presence, after all he was the great Clown Prince of Crime from Gotham, and by now Jerry should know that if, as he suspected, Charley went on with the news.

Why was he having these recurring dreams, and above all what did they mean? This one left him so startled and exhausted that he felt he had been trying to outrun a locomotive. He had to focus. If he was to succeed in his plan of destroying the bat and claiming his city, he needed to remain calm and not deviate from his goal; but these flashbacks or hallucinations or whatever they were, were starting to gain on him. He looked at his reflection on the mirror. He looked disheveled with his hair wild as ever, pointing in all directions, his eyes looking tired with bags under them that puffed like balloons. He opened the faucet ready to wash the weariness off his face when he remembered his makeup_. Damn-- _Joker took his gloves off and wetted his hands, combing his wild black mane with this hands in an effort that the water will tame the crazy curls. He closed the faucet and dried his hands with a paper towel. The cream color of his hands disappeared to give way to the pasty white skin. He crumbled the paper towel,took a lighter from his pocket and set fire to the paper . The towels quickly turned to ashes and he washed them away down the drain.

Joker straightened and stretched. He pulled up his pants, tucked his shirt in, and fixed up his crooked bow tie. He returned the gun to his holster and combed his hair with his hands several times then replaced his gloves. Joker left the room and went down the stairs. There he saw the man-mountain in the room eying a magazine. Why did he need to be escorted? He did not like the idea. The man-mountain got up and signaled Joker to follow. Joker put his hands in his pocket making sure he was in contact with his marble grenades, just in case. If this was a set up he was not going to be caught off guard. Joker followed the man mountain into the next room, whistling a happy tune and in there he saw Charley and a few of Jerry's men he had seen last night along with half a dozen other faces he did not recognize.

"Hope you had a nice rest Mr. Kerr" said Charley giving him a malicious smile. She had kept her promised and had not revealed his real identity. He was going to follow the game too.

"Well, room service last night was kind of rough, and your bed is as hard as the floor." He stretched. "Next time I'm staying at a Holiday Inn."

Charley chuckled softly. "Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. Well, you'll be happy to know that the Leopards have finally come up to a decision regarding your offer."

"Why isn't Jerry here?" asked Joker looking around and noticing the absence of the number one honcho of the kitty-cat club.

"Jerry is kind of tied up at this time. Is that a problem?"

"Yes, it is a problem. I already said I'll only deal with the leader of the pack."

"Really? I didn't know it meant so much to you. In that case…" Charley signaled to the man mountain. "Jake, bring Jerry here, would you?"

Mountain man and another henchman that Joker did not recognized went to the room next door and between the two they brought a large trunk that they set in front of him. It did not require a rocket scientist to figure out what was inside. The other man undid the padlock on the trunk and opened the lid. Inside laid Jerry, gagged and bound both hands and feet. Joker took a closer look to the man in the trunk and noted his chest rising so slightly.

"He's still alive." said Joker smiling while poking Jerry's body teasingly. The man moved slightly and slowly opened his eyes. He looked around in terror and started to squirm and moan when he realized his predicament. Joker waved tenderly at him.

"Well, Mr. Kerr, Jerry really didn't like the offer. He said that it was too risky to mess in the issues of that demented boss of yours, especially with the Batman involved. We on the other hand, thought that the offer to change environment will be a healthy move for our organization. We voted, he lost."

"Yes, but…he's…still breathing. Rule number one when you take over someone else's turf, Princess…" Joker pointed into the trunk. "You…kill him."

"See, I told you boys. I thought so too, but decided you might want to have a chat with him first. After all nobody calls your boss a demented psychopath, right?" Charley was smiling.

"Oh, you're so sweet." Joker sighed and fumbled his pockets where he took a small marble grenade. He smiled wildly and looked at the man in the trunk. "What the heck, what's it one more when you have thousands under your belt. Jerry, I warned you about calling Joker a psychotic, he doesn't appreciate it. Now close your eyes and open wide… here's a gift from your favorite Gotham psychopath."

Against the protesting Leopards' ex-leader the Joker forced the marble through the gag into Jerry's mouth and closed the trunk sitting on top of it with his hands folded over his chest. There was and explosive sound from the inside and the trunk shook slightly. Small cloud of smoke started to filter out through the edges of the trunk. Everybody in the room looked at him in disbelief. Some of the men in the room even covered their mouths with their hands, their eyes wide in horror. Even the mountain man looked concerned. Charley remained emotionless, her chin resting on the back of her hand. Joker smiled smugly.

"I think he lost his marbles. Well, who is the big man now, or should I say big lady?"

"Perceptive, Mr. Kerr, and the term IS Grand Leopard." said Charley getting up and pacing around the table. "I was thinking this is a good time to renegotiate the terms of our alliance?"

"Renegotiate?"

"We think you can do better, Mr. J."

"What you want me to offer you, the whole planet? You know, this is not in a Moroccan marketplace and I don't like to bargain. I can go somewhere else to hire muscle." Joker said obviously annoyed. The image of her skinless, faceless, rotting corpse came back to his mind. Who did this woman think she was dealing with? Wait a minute, she knew…

"What about the talent? Isn't that what you came here to Brenton? You can't get any better than this."

"Talent…yesss. Had forgotten about that." Joker giggled and scratched the back of his neck. "Tell you what. I know you are one of three gangs here in Brenton fighting for the control of the city. What if you were the ONLY one? Business will be totally yours at home and that will make up for any difference in benefits. Fair, don't you think?"

"May I ask how you plan on doing that? Neither the Caesar's nor the Highlanders will settle for less than local control of Brenton."

"Leave the problem to me, sweetie. I'm a natural diplomat. So I'm offering you and your kitty cats thirty percent of the Gotham 'commerce' loyalties and absolute control over the Brenton. Isn't that a bargain?" Joker smiled.

"You said… the entire city of Gotham."

"I know what I said, but my boss needs his insurance as well. If you prove yourselves and the pest problem in Gotham is solved he will eventually give you the entire city as promised. My boss just needs some space for his performances and if you're willing to share the stage with a genius…"

"That is not what we had in mind, Mr. Kerr. There are some rules you follow when bargaining."

"Rules, who needs rules," said Joker waving a hand disdainfully. "Rules are for the masses. We're all above that. What I'm offering is the control of your little world here and if you behave and help me get rid of my bat problem, a whole city. I'm sure we can make beautiful music together. Capice?"

"The rules of the game are…"

"The rules of the game are, you will own Brenton, you'll work with a genius that can make you reach beyond your dreams in a partnership made in heaven, and last but not least, don't even try on my boss the Jerry special I just did here with your ex-chief, unless you want to die young and beautiful." Joker started to rub his hands together. "If you like the rules, we can start playing. Any questions?"

Charley looked around to see the reaction on everybody's face to the Joker's offers. For the first time she had felt the burden of command on her shoulders and it felt like a very heavy load. She noticed, Jake on the corner getting ready to draw his gun to fire at the Joker when he met her eyes. That was the problem with Jake, always letting his gun think for him. She gave him a clear message and he left the gun in his holster and stepped back. She could feel division of opinions in the room, and it was her duty to unite the point of view of the whole gang with what she thought was the best course of action. Joker was powerful, and very resourceful and if he could really get the other gangs to surrender to the Leopards, well, that could be the beginning of a very profitable relationship. She smiled.

"Are you sure you don't like to bargain, Mr. Kerr?"

"Nope, I prefer stand up comedy, the type in which I shoot you where you stand while I laugh. Now, can shake on the deal?" Joker said offering Charley a friendly gloved hand. She looked around to the other people in the room where nobody moved, then responded with hers. When they were about to shake, Joker turned his palm up and showed her his buzzer. She jerked her hand away and that made him laugh hysterically. "Lucky girl, you just missed a hundred thousand jolts of joy." Charley just tittered while she stepped back against the billiard table.

"You're…something else, Mr. Kerr."

"That is what my psychiatrist says," Joker smiled. "Are we ready to move to the big city?" said Joker taking his cell phone from his jacket. "Because I'm ready to shoot down a bat."


	7. The Hunt Begins

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Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: Some scenes can be too strong for very young children...viewer discretion adviced.

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Chapter 7: THE HUNT BEGINS

She felt the strength of his glare on the back of her neck. She opened her eyes slowly and saw the pointy-eared shadow reflected on the wall in front of her. She smiled widely when she heard his voice. "Harley…"

She quickly jumped to her feet and like a ballerina, approached the acrylic doors. "Batsy! I knew it! I knew you'd come. But please… shhhhh… I don't want anybody to find out I'm helping you. OK?"

"Where is he?"

"How am I to know bat-brain? That's the whole problem. He's not here and I don't know where he is." Harley let herself slide down the door until she landed sitting on the floor. Her face showed sincere concern. "He should've been here a long time ago to get me, but he hasn't come. There is something really wrong with my 'puddin'."

"Harley, the message said you could help me find Joker. I didn't come here to waste my time."

"Oh Batsy, but I want to help you. It's just that… well… I'm here and he's out there."

"I'm not letting you out."

"No, I don't think you would, but don't blame me for trying." Harley said with a soft giggle. "You need to find Mr. J, and I want to help, because he needs his faithful Harley by his side."

"How can you help?"

"Have you gone to his hideouts, lately? The one in the industrial park?

"Yes"

"The Party Outlet warehouse?

"Yes"

"There is one in the Metropolitan…"

"Being there."

"And you still haven't found him? Boy Batsy, you are one lousy detective. Those are his favorite hideouts." Harley really sounded dissapointed

"Anything else?" asked the Caped vigilante ignoring her insults.

"It's odd that he has not gone to his favorite places, you know? Mr. J is, no offense puddin', an animal of habits…." Harley looked to be brooding deeply. "Have you found Blip, yet?" Batman clenched his fists the leather stretching underneath.

"You know about Blip?"

"My God, bat-butt, of course I know about Blip. Helloo! You're talking to Mr. J's girlfriend here. There's not'ing that I don't know about my puddin'."

"Do you know his name?

"Well, Blip of course," she answered while playing with her hair. "At least that what Mr. J. always called him and I don't think he calls him anything else. He's Mr. J's special ops man. He deals with all communications, electronics, financing, and that sort of thing. If it could be done with a computer, Mr. Blip would arrange it. He and my puddin' are like this." Harley joined both index fingers side by side.

"Can you give me a description?"

"Ah, well let's see. He's about twenty something, short, about five feet three, chubby running into the heavyweight department, blonde hair, and nerdy glasses; very odd guy, with awful taste for clothes and extremely quiet. Maybe that's why Mr. J. likes him, he doesn't talk back."

"Where can I find him?"

"Usually with Mr. J. Boy Bat-breath, if I didn't know my puddin' was straight, and madly in love with me I would think they were lovers." She giggled

"You're not helping Harley."

"OK, OK, let me think. There this building in the old district, used to belong to Mr. J. at one time long ago but you know the saying, once Joker's always Joker's. It's pretty close to an electronic shop that Blip used to buy a lot of his equipment from at the corners of Hamilton and O'Hara and even though it's not my Mr. J's style to reuse old hideouts already seized by the pigs, excuse me…police, under the circumstances Blip has to be around there somewhere close to that store, getting his equipment and gizmos especially if he's working with the boss to reorganized. He's such a nerd. It's something to start with."

She was right, it was just a start but was a sincere intent to help him get the Joker or was she just playing him as part of a master plan engineered by the Clown Prince himself. "I'll check on that one…anything else you can think of?"

Harley bit her lip and narrowed her eyes momentarily. "Not at the moment and if he's not there, well… then there's something really wrong with him." She lowered her eyes. "It's not like him to at least write me, you know." She looked at him and he would have sworn that tears had started to well in her eyes. "Bats…please don't hurt him…."

"I'll try, Harley…but that always depended on him."

"I know…but I'm scared…something's really wrong with him…he's not well."

Batman turned around to leave when he heard a soft giggle coming from Harley's cell. He looked at her on the floor in front of the door, playing childishly with her hair. She was looking at him intensely, and a soft smile appeared on her face. Why was Harley smiling now?" "Hey bat-boy. Do I get at least a thank you note from the Cape Crusader?"

"Harley, if this is another one of you and your boyfriend's scheme, you're going to regret it."

"Oh, Batsy, I love it when you talk dirty to me but tonight, I swear, this is the last resort of a woman madly in love. Just promise you'll bring him back. He needs to be here with me. And please don't tell him I helped you, that'll make 'im really, really, mad, OK?"

He walked out of the cell hall and passed through the security desk where he retrieved his batarang and some other weapons. Harley had spoken of Blip. Though he knew never to take anything seriously from her, the information, if true, definitely confirmed that this individual was real, and related to the Joker in a much intimate way than he had anticipated. What if that's exactly what he was supposed to think? This could still be just a ploy planned by Harley and Joker to confuse him or kill him. Both were totally insane, and definitely capable of planning such a thing. But why did he have the feeling that Harley, in her insanity, was being sincere, maybe for the first time. Her eyes were so filled with concern and dread after Joker's inactivity. The truth is that Joker had always come back for her at the asylum after he had escaped, but it's been almost a month and he had not even tried to contact her, why? Was she playing a role in this puzzle? He didn't have an answer, and unfortunately had no way of confirming her involvement with Joker for the moment; it was as if Joker had forgotten about her… The only thing left to do was to follow the lead she had offered him.

He thought about Blip. His research in the computer at the cave had yielded very interesting information about this enigmatic character. He had expected to not find much on the guy, but instead, he found dozens of entries under the name, all related to hacking, and computer identity theft which seemed to be this hacker's favorite line of work and when he compared those crimes committed by the Joker and Blip's electronic transtgressions… he saw a pattern. Not only that, Blip had been bold enough to try to get into the Pentagon computers once; luckily without success. This hacker knew no fear….and someone like that, associated with Joker, could be as dangerous as the Clown Prince himself…especially if like he suspected, Blip had the same disregard for human life the Joker had.

Blip and the Joker were definitely related… Harley had confirmed it, but what made this Blip so special? Joker's associates never lasted more than a few weeks at a time and this Blip seemed to have been in association with the Clown Prince for at least two years. How could that be possible? He must really be very close to him and he suspected that Blip had access to classified information that Joker found indispensable or there would be no hacker in the first place. Someone that close to Joker had to have fallen already, but at the same time, had to have been overlooked. But how could someone overlook such an individual…Someone in Joker's organization had to know about Blip…or maybe not. How do you protect someone as important as Blip without catching the attention of associates or the police…unless he did not look like a hacker?

Batman had to go over the list of previous associations with the Joker and see who fit the bill but for some reason, there was something very familiar in the description Harley had given of Blip. Once he could check the police lineup and the arrest records, he'll be able to pinpoint the hacker from the pack, but the description that Harley had given him still sounded so familiar...

The Dark Detective will have to move fast and efficiently. Joker seemed to have protected this hacker for a long time but he didn't doubt that if the clown knew how close he was to knowing who Blip was; Joker will kill the hacker immediately. Joker was very good at disposing of his henchmen when they became a hassle.

ooooooooooooooooooo

Joker fell to the floor hard on his back and panted while he stared at the ceiling and noticed that the room was starting to spin clockwise subtly, but enough to be noticed. He was not made for this type of abuse. The Batman had bruised him bad in the past, broke some bones, dislocated a few joints here and there but he was a gigantic bat with suppressed anger issues and a clinically confirmed hatred of clowns; this was different. He was loosing a fight to a woman…. Joker thought of the irony and started to laugh loudly.

"You OK, boss? I hope I wasn't too hard on you this time." Charley said walking towards the man laughing on the floor. All of a sudden, Joker stopped laughing and just stared blankly to the ceiling. "Oh God, I think I hit you too hard." Charley came closer to him, but he didn't even notice her presence, "Boss?"

_Jack had seen them around for a few days now. They've being roaming the streets frightening the owners of the small business in the area and collecting large amounts of money from them. Even one of them, the one they called Big Lou, had given him a five bucks once to flatten the tires of the two police cars parked in their street. Five dollars…he ate like a king with those five dollars and seeing the face of the cops after they found all four tires on their cars slashed was priceless. Those pigs were not going to chase any bank robbers that day. _

_Now he had decided to follow them, to find out where they were hanging out and that is how he got to the warehouse. It was a bold move, since these guys were really tough and were not afraid of beating people up, but they also collected a large amount of money. Coming around any amount of green stuff when you roam the streets is hard, and it's even harder if you are only fifteen, and everybody wants to take advantage of you. He thought for a moment on how different it would have been if he had stayed in Brenton, than rather catching a ride to this big city. It was just that Brenton was so small, insignificant, that it really didn't offer him much; only bad memories and a lot of pain. Gotham city was a whole new world, a new market for opportunities, and his was waiting right in front of him now and he was prepared to take it this time; armed and dangerous just like those thugs, and ready for action. He was safe here in the second floor of the warehouse, hidden silently among the shadows waiting patiently to find out where those guys where keeping all that money…it was a matter of patience._

_Jack felt something out of the shadows pull him by the hair. He looked up and saw a man clinging to his head. He fought the grip bravely, but it felt like a crane pulling on his head. He threw a wild kick and the man released him with a groan. He started to run, but did not get too far. The same man grabbed his arm, flung him against the wall with great force and drew his gun. Jack tried to start running again but the large man hit him hard with the gun handle on the back and Jack lost his balance._

_"Come 'ere, you little turd!" The man said putting an arm around the boy's neck. Jack couldn't breathe with a grip that tight. "Hey Lou, look what I found. A spy." The man laughed and Jack was starting to loose consciousness, his vision slowly blurring. "You wanna meet the boys, runt? Go down and say hi to Uncle Lou."_

_The man started to laugh again and pushed Jack over the rail. The boy fell down to ground level and landed painfully over a pile of cardboards. He felt another man pulling him from the pile, but it was hard to focus on anything, since his head and all his body was now in pain. "What the hell..? It's just a kid, Marty." Big Lou said in his deep voice._

_"Kid or no kid he was spying on us." Marty said coming down the stairs. "The kid knows where we hide and what we do and he's gonna be a problem."_

_"He's right Lou, the kid can go to the coppers with the information and he's gonna fuck up our little enterprise here. Bianco is not gonna be happy if that happens."_

_"Doyle, you don't understand, it's just a kid!" Lou said holding Jack up by his shirt, the boy obviously still not completely aware of his surroundings. He was looking as limp as a puppet on strings._

_"Sorry Lou. Ice the kid."_

_Jack heard the fat man speak…ice…as in cold…as in dead cold. He searched in his sleeve and pulled the sharp piece of metal he had improvised as a knife and always kept handy. With all his might he forced the weapon into Lou's arm and the large man screamed releasing his grip on him. Jack growled, jumped on Lou and stabbed him multiple times in the torso, neck and arm with his knife. Lou fell to the ground, but Jack continued stabbing the man violently, while growling furiously. Marty fired his gun and Jack felt a painful ringing in his head. He lost his balance and fell to the ground in all fours beside Lou. Everything in front of him was spinning, and he felt warm blood running down his forehead._

_"Did you see that Doyle?" Marty said walking closer to Lou's unmoving body on the ground. He put two fingers against the man's bloody neck. "My God! He killed Lou…this little piece of shit killed Lou!" Marty took aim to the kid on the floor. Jack lifted his head to look at the man with the gun, but the headache was tremendous and he winced in pain. "And the son of a bitch is smiling…I'm gonna kill 'im!"_

_"Hold on, Marty," said the fat man. "This kid just did something I thought was impossible. Lou was the closest thing I've seen to indestructible…now look at him…stiff. What's your name, kid?"_

_Jack fought to rise to his feet, but felt his legs turn to jelly. Marty advanced towards him and grabbed him lifting him by the neck; the warehouse around him looked like a combination of a merry-go-round and a fun house, with a dash of nausea and a truckload of pain. "Let me ice 'im, Doyle."_

_"Don't even think about it, Marty. Hey kid…if you wanna keep breathing…you'll talk to me, OK? What's your name?"_

_"J-J-Jack." The boy responded not able to hold vomiting on Marty's hand._

_"GROSS!" Marty exclaimed grimacing._

_"Hey Jack, what were you doing up there? Where are your parents?"_

_"Just…me…, "Jack said with great effort. "… need the money. " Doyle smiled._

_"You can't be older than sixteen or seventeen. Would you be interested in a job, Jack?"_

_"You can't be serious, Doyle. You saw what he did to Lou. This kid's crazy."_

_"It is precisely because of that, is that I'm offering him a job. If he could take on Lou, this kid is really tough. He could take anyone down." Doyle walked over to Jack and ran a hand on the right side of the boy's head. The boy screamed in pain and the fat man could see where the bullet had graced the boy's head and was bleeding profusely. "You're lucky, Jack. Marty's bullet missed your brain by an inch, and Marty never misses. Still interested in the money?" Jack nodded._

_"I can't believe you, Doyle. The Boss is not going to hire a maniac like this."_

_"Don't worry about the Boss, Marty. This kid will be working for me, not Bianco. I think that Jack is a kid with many talents, aren't you, Jack?" The boy just stared at the fat man. "I have use for those talents. Now kid, if you're gonna work for me, you better do as I say. You have a lot to learn of this business and Marty is the man to teach you."_

_"Doyle…" the henchman protested._

_"Marty…release the kid."_

_Marty loosened the grip on Jack who fell back on the floor. The fat man asked Marty to get some clothes and some food for the boy as he left, but he didn't say anything about aspirin, and Jack's head was about to explode. The two men entered in a hot argument, but Jack could only think of the splitting headache about to crack his skull in half. Jack pressed his head against the floor when someone kicked him on the abdomen. He fell on his back moaning in pain and saw Marty looking at him, the fat man was gone._

_"Listen, Crazy Jack. This is a one in a million chance so don't fuck up, understood? Marty snorted. "I am not happy of what you did to my friend Lou and I'm reserving a bullet with your name, so don't make me use it. ARE YOU LISTENING..?" Marty yelled as he kicked the boy again. Jack closed his eyes and nodded. If only this headache would go away…. "Now get up and come with me, we need to take care of that wound and get you some decent clothing."_

"Mr. J., are you with me? Please say something," said Charley pushing Joker's shoulder.

"Yes, sir…I'll do whatever you want…I'm your man…" The Clown answered looking at her with attentive wide eyes.

"What are you saying?"

The Boss looked around as if trying to situate himself and then pushed himself up with his arms and with a grunt he finally sat down and massaged the right side of his head. He felt the old scar. By now he had started to laugh again. "Why didn't I find you before, Princess? You can give the Big Bad Bat a run for his money." Joker said smiling.

"What I would like to know is how you, with no physical abilities and no fighting technique can be considered the most dangerous man in Gotham City. I haven't even being rough with you yet, and I've knocked you down twice in ten minutes."

"Charm." Joker said giggling.

"What?"

"It's my charm. You see, I smile, say 'how do you do?' (Because I'm very polite)," Joker rose from the floor with Charley's aid. "And just try to look as helpless as I can, after all, I'm a good boy at heart."

"And then they feel pity on you." Joker lost his balance and grabbed onto Charley's shoulder. "Where does that take you, Boss?"

"To the winning circle of course, because then …" Joker kicked Charley forcefully in the abdomen making her fall on her knees wincing in pain. He then quickly slammed his fist against her jaw with such strength that Charley hit the floor face down. Joker jumped on her and lifted her head by the hair, produced a Joker card from apparently nowhere and gently ran it over her neck from right ear to left. "…I have the element of surprise." The Clown giggled. "By the way, Princess, you're dead."

Joker let her head go and rose from the floor putting quickly some distance between Charley and him. No need to push his luck. He folded his arms over his chest and rested his head on his left hand. Charley rose slowly from the floor.

"Joker, you're a slimy son of… you fight dirty." Charley said running a hand over her neck where a small trickle of blood got her attention. "You cut me...you fucking cut my neck!"

"But at the end I win. Isn't this what it's all about? And don't be a crybaby… it's only a paper cut, for the love of God!" Joker just stared at her with that large evil smile carved on his face. She did not know if he was mocking her or being serious; with that ever-present smile…she could never tell. "I'll be more worried about that lip…it looks kind of swollen."

Charley put the tip of her fingers over the right side of her jaw and the pain finally hit her. She felt her lip puff up and looked at the Joker with an evil glare. The Clown Prince just stared at her this time giggling softly.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Charley said almost growling.

"Actually I am, but don't look at me like that. You started this..." Joker noticed Charley's eyed got really tiny and angry. "You wanted to know what made me so dangerous. Charming, don't you think?"

"You got me by surprise, I admit it. But to succeed in your attack, you need to be very close to your target. I doubt that the Batman will ever let you get that close."

"Oh, the Bat. " The Joker let out a resentful sigh. "He doesn't care. He wears this armored black costume…bulletproof, fireproof, Jokerproof."

"That doesn't mean he's not vulnerable."

"Interesting point of view…" Joker started walking towards Charley. "I would like to hear more."

"Sure, why not…don't you want to fight the bat?" Charley met the Joker's approach and slapped him on the face. "That's for cutting my neck and busting my lip, Clown."

"I've killed for less than that…" Joker said angrily, massaging his cheek. He held his Joker card up, the sharp edge glinting under the lights.

"No killing today, Boss," Charley said waiving a finger in front on his face. "It wouldn't be funny… and plain revenge is not your style."

"Funny is the clown's style, Princess, and he's not here." With a swift maneuver of his hand, Joker made the playing card disappear into thin air. His eyes softened, and he even smiled. "You like living dangerously, don't you?"

"And you need a lot of training if you want to face the Bat and kill him with your own hands, so let's continue practicing, yes?" Joker nodded and followed her to the middle of the room. "First things first, let's learn a little about defense…"

"Defense is the best offense." Joker said trying to look very serious.

"That's true…It will allow you time to study your enemy, learn his pattern for the final confrontation while it helps you stay alive."

"That's too complicated…just give me some fertilizer, a fuse and a clock and I'll blow up everyone in a three mile radius." Joker smiled with glee.

"What is it with you and blowing things up?"

"It's funny. Large explosions use to make me laugh." Joker forced a sad face, his large smile still ever present.

"Shut up and pay attention. Analyze your enemy. He has to have a vulnerable point."

"He doesn't have a sense of humor." Joker said heavily.

"That's not relevant, Mr. J."

"Of course it's relevant. Every time we fight he doesn't say a word, just beats the crap out of me…how you want me to find my center when every time I say a joke he doesn't laugh..? It's exasperating."

"That's your vulnerability… not his." Charley rubbed her forehead. "You need to control your temper and stop talking nonsense. Now tell me about this armor he wears."

"What you want to know? It is just armor." Joker said shrugging.

"Most armor contains some type of metal which can serve as a conductor, and need mobile joints that are very difficult to protect efficiently allowing for weaknesses that you can exploit during an attack."

"Oh, you are so clever….." Joker clapped joyfully. "You and I are gonna make nice music together...I can just hear it…When do we start with the Kung Fu?"


	8. Honey, I'm Home

Note: Thanks again to all those leaving their feedback, it is deeply appreciated and KEEP THEM COMING (even if you guys don't like the story, just let me know what you think) I know the story is kind of slow now, but things are gonna get better, I promise.

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related Characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: Some language and some situations might not be suitable for very young readers. Viewer discretion is adviced

ENJOY!!!

Chapter 8: HONEY, I'M HOME

Blip, had just finished setting the cables from his laptop for the teleconference equipment. He had wished he would have had more time to set things straight but when the boss called saying he was on his way back to Gotham and that he wanted to meet with all his lieutenants and local bosses as soon as possible, he had to move close to the speed of sound. Emails, phone calls, even personal couriers traveled not everybody was in a rush to meet with the Joker either, so Blip had to use his talent for communication and persuasion to convince everybody of the importance of this meeting and their attendance without giving much information of what was going to be addressed. That had been a nightmare. In part because he had really no idea what the plan was and whatever little he knew he had to handle with care since the Joker wanted to deliver the news himself, as always, when the time was right, especially since he knew some bat-ears will be very alert as to any Joker news.

Blip had paid lots of money to rent the large conference room space in the Hamilton Exchange for the 10th anniversary of Laughling & Green Brokers and though he thought this was an unusual setting for a reunion between Joker and the criminal underworld, the boss had explicitly requested the detailed setting for the meeting down to the red, green and white balloons scattered through out the floor. Nobody really suspected that the broker firm was just a curtain for the management (legal and sometimes illegal) of some of Joker's investments. For everybody but the boss and his closed group, the broker firm was just another rentable space in the middle of Gotham's Business District. Ten years of supplying the boss money for his capers, and all under the police's nose. One for Joker; zero for the GCPD. . The boss was so clever…This was supposed to be an innocent party for the employees of the firmand security had explicit instructions not to let anybody enter without an invitation card. Nobody will bother them tonight.

Someone knocked at the door and Blip moved among the balloons towards the doors. He grabbed his .22 Baretta firmly in his hand and opened the door ever so slightly.

"Is this the Broker's party?" asked a tall, tanned man accompanied with a small group of people at the door. Blip recognized the thick accent.

"Oh, hi Sergio. Yes, come in. How's the business in Columbia?"

"It's Colombia, dumb ass." The tall man said pushing Blip out of his way and followed by half a dozen of young armed men. Sergio Ramirez, was well known in the Hispanic circles of the underworld. He was very good-looking, with long straight hair that fell down at shoulder length and copper- colored skin on a well muscled body, but at the same time he was also very arrogant and also a very powerful and influential member of the Gotham Colombian Cartel. "Is your boss here yet? I can't believe we are the first to arrive."

"Hm… No, but just sit and relax; he'll arrive any second now. There is wine and appetizers in the back if you want."

Sergio snorted and walked to a table close to the glass window. He combed his black hair back with his hand nervously, and took a seat while some of the members of his group, poured themselves some wine and food.

Someone knocked at the door again. This time it was Boss Harry Garrison from North Gotham, and one of the most dangerous men in the city. He could, people say, be enjoy some tea and biscuits while someone was being tortured, and he treated everybody like a son, up to the moment when he would blow their head off. Garrison nodded politely to Blip, who felt his heart skip a beat, and sat by himself at the end of the room. After him, more people continued to arrive, some of them alone, others accompanied by a small group of associates and grab their places in the room. The entire underground world had some type of representation in the room, and those that had been the most difficult to convince had at least agreed to join via telecomm. Only thing missing in this party was the Joker, and Blip was starting to become a little concerned because he was all by himself in a room filled with the worst of the worst of Gotham. He not only didn't like the company (since he would rather be sitting all by himself by a computer monitor), but he was also having this feeling that his life was hanging from a thread, and World War III could erupt in this room anytime.

Someone forgot his manners and started pounding at the door with so much force that Blip thought the whole door frame will come crashing down. Blip rushed to open when he saw a large bald black man, in black pants and wearing a leather jacket over nothing but his bare chest and two large gold and silver necklaces with the word PAIN and PIMP respectively. In his hands he had a large military duffle bag that looked kind of heavy.

"Hey, Mickey?" said the man pushing himself through the entrance.

"'Cuse me, this is a private party." Blip said trying to impede the entry of the large man. It would have been easier to move Mt. Everest.

"I know, lil' white bro. Name's Jake, an' your grinning boss sent me. He's downstairs still, dealing with security," said the man with a smile as he entered the room with his baggage.

Dealing with security… What the hell did that mean? Blip prayed that the boss did not decide on snuffing anybody in the building today, because that could spell disaster for the meeting he had tried so hard to set. No. The boss wouldn't be that crazy, would he?

"Why didn't he call me?" Blip asked. Jake dropped the duffle bag on the floor and lifted his hands putting both indexes against each side of his bald head pointing upward, then flapped his arms: The Batman. Blip also saw the large gun under his jacket, a lot bigger than his. More of the leathered people entered the room after Jake and made themselves at home, without even looking at Michael. Everyone placed themselves strategically all over the room and the large man with the jewelry around his neck grabbed the duffle bag and dropped it on the large table in the front of the room. He pulled an empty chair from a nearby table without even uttering a word and sat in the very center of the room. Everybody else looked at the group suspiciously, and Blip felt that he was loosing control of the situation. He instinctively pushed his glasses on his nose.

"What is the meaning of this? What is this '_negro de mierda'_ doing here." asked Sergio eyeing the newcomers with obvious disgust in his face. Sergio was obviously racist too. "Where is the Joker, Michael? I'm loosing my patience."

"Yo, the _'pendejo'_ with the funny accent," Interjected Jake before Blip could say anything. "You got a problem, man? Just sit down and wait like everybody else in 'ere and shut the fuck off. _Cabron_."

"_Que coño es lo que te crees, hijo de puta..?_" Sergio riposted. Blip didn't understand a single word but that didn't sound nice.

"This is outrageous!" said an irate Tom Clancy rising from his chair and urging Sergio to calm down. "Who do you people think you are, coming here to break our peace like this?"

"Dark Tom, sir?" interjected Blip timidly while he absentmindedly fixed the knot on his tie, "These guys are guests of the boss man…"

"You 'eard Four Eyes, Chubby. We're guests. We're the Leopards from Brenton and yo' bettah treat us wit' some respect."

"What did you just call me?" Dark Tom fumed as he looked at Sergio. "Did he just call me chubby?"

"Yeah, I called yeh chubby, chunky-boy." Jake started laughing. "Next time ask me, instead o' dat _'mariquita'_ beside yeh."

"I'll show you some respect" retorted Sergio drawing his gun and followed by his men. In the blink of an eye all the people in the room was aiming their weapons at each other and as hell was about to break loose, Blip just prayed for a safe place to hide before the shooting started.

"Gentlemen, please, there is no need for hostility between friends. Put your weapons away and just relax and smile," Joker said as he entered the room with his broad smile producing an immediate silence. "And they say I have anger management issues…" More gang members entered after the main man himself and the entire room was filled with over a dozen Leopards. Everybody slowly put their guns away and Joker signaled Blip to lock the door behind him as he walked, very calmly, to the front of the room. The Clown Prince stopped momentarily in front of Jake and signaled him to step down. Blip could not take his eyes from the boss. He had never recalled seeing Joker doing a regular entrance without some type of theatrics, nor had heard him ever call for peace. Wasn't he the Jester of Hate? And what about that outfit? Joker was wearing a black tuxedo over a black, white and gray checker board patterned vest on a bright white shirt and black velvety bowtie. Over his tuxedo, as to complete this strange picture, he was wearing a black leather trench coat and black leather gloves, and his shoes, shiny and dressy, were covered with green spats; the only colored piece in this monochromatic attire. His face was partially covered by a black scarf that was bound around his neck and made his face look even whiter when it was framed by the scarf and the black fedora over his nicely trimmed green hair.

"Who are these people? And who the hell are you?" asked Dark Tom.

"These are friends of mine, and me? Well, kind of obvious, no Tommy?" Joker looked tenderly to the dark haired lady by his side, undid his scarf and handed her his trench coat and fedora. He then smiled at the audience. "Who else has silky green hair, clean porcelain veneer and sexy red lips extended in a wide grin as a permanent sign of bliss?"

"Why aren't you laughing, clown?" asked Sergio. "If you are the Clown Prince of Crime tell us a joke."

"Sorry, joke department has closed until further notice… because we have a very serious problem here in Gotham. It flies at night to terrorize the poor citizens of this city and interrupts the work of serious enterprising businessmen like us."

"What kind of joke is this Michael?" asked Dark Tom walking towards Joker. Blip just shrugged. "You talked us into coming here to listen to this facsimile of your boss? Where are the antics, the theatrical performance, and the maniacal laughter? This is no Joker."

Tom drew his gun aiming it at Joker, and in a blink of an eye he had one pointing at his head from the lady in black and twelve more from the other Leopards in the room.

"Tommy boy," said Joker with a soft chuckle. Dark Tom was so predictable. "Can I suggest one dose of valium for you and your entourage? You're a little jumpy tonight and this kind of behavior might leave you very dead before you can even pull that trigger and miss on the greatest piece of history since the invention of money."

Dark Tom looked nervously around him and lowered his gun. "What do you have in mind?"

"What else but take down the Batman, freeing this city from that piece of guano once and for all." Joker folded his arms over his chest and smiled sinisterly. "And I might even add one or two bonus packs of my own, just for the fun of it."

"How many times have you tried that before, Oh King of Buffoons?" said boss Garrison.

Joker snorted. "Let's us not revel in the past, people. There is a new dawn in Gotham; one that promises riches beyond your wildest dreams and best of all no flying rats or their dumb sidekicks courtesy of yours truly."

"Ha! _El payaso_ finally made a joke, and for the first time is funny." Sergio said laughing out loud. Joker frowned.

"_'Señor payaso'_ for you and it wasn't supposed to be that funny, Juan Valdes, so catch!" Joker said throwing a little black ball that upon contact with Sergio's hands produced a small puff of gas. The Colombian giggled and fell to the floor to land on his face. The group accompanying Sergio aimed their guns at Joker, while the Leopards responded to the Colombian group with theirs. Joker pointed to the group aiming at him. "Now, that HAS to be a record; twice in one night. But fear not, my Latino friends, your boss is not dead just taking a short nap. He'll feel better after he had his beauty rest. Don't waste your bullets, because I haven't come here to kill anyone, at least not yet. We all need each other if we are going to take the rodent down, that is of course, if we can all work together. Our strength is in our numbers, you know?"

"What is it in for all of us?" Dark Tom asked.

"What part of Gotham without the Bat you don't get, Tommy? We'll divide the city in equal parts, everybody back to business as usual. This was our city, before the Bat was born."

"And that's all?"

"That's all." The Joker said with a complacent smile.

"And since when have you been interested in joining ranks with us in our…business? You've always worked alone, Joker."

"Then I got up one morning and realized I wasn't the only clown in this city who wanted the Bat dead. Success feels much better when you can share it with your friends, Tommy, and if we work together, WE can accomplish what I have not been able to do on my own. Kill the Batman."

Garrison stepped forward, his hands joined together under his chin as if in prayer and a tender smile in his lips. "You mean to tell us, this is not one of your jokes…you really want to work with us." Joker nodded emphatically. "You realize that no one in room believes you, right?"

"But why?" Joker asked with obvious sadness in his voice. "I have resources...I have talent…my charming personality…and I really think that if we join forces... "

"You're selfish, self-centered, psychotic, sadistic, megalomaniac, and completely crazy. Did I miss anything?"

"I could take that personally, Harry." There was a chuckle from among the group of people. "Look, I know that I've been a little…eccentric and theatrical in the past, but that was just a way of making my act unique. Caught your attention didn't I?" Joker smiled wide and pointed to the group. "Now the times have change, and my show has been revamped. This new Joker is big…is bad…is sane… and is back!"

Black Tom eyed Joker suspiciously. "You are sane…"

"You better believe it." Joker responded extending his arms in a theatrical way. "And the way I see it...when we retake our city, you get rich with a capital R and I go down in history as the criminal mind that defeated the Batman. Just imagine what that's going to do for my fan club." Joker had started to giggle when he heard the door. Blip walked over and after a short exchanged of words with the new guest he finally let him in. Joker looked at the lady in black. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat brought in."

"I'm sorry I'm late, boss, your message…" said the man that entered who was on his mid thirties, sporting blue shirt and slacks, with a white, blue and gold tie around his neck. His black straight hair fell down to shoulder length. Joker quickly approached him with open arms.

"No, no, you arrived just in time." The boss threw an arm around the guest. "Ladies and gentlemen your attention please; let me introduce to you Philip Trenton. He's my second in command and thanks to him, the Batman spoiled my last caper locked me up back in Arkham."

"Sir, what are you doing?" Phil asked looking at the Joker suspiciously.

"I'm just telling this people how blessed I've been of having you by my side so smile." Joker pinched Phil's cheeks. "Where were you when the batarangs started flying that ominous night, Phil?"

"What? We were fooled by the Batman and it took us some time to…"

"That's not what I heard from some of your friends, Phil. Hey, Blip you remember what Leo's email said?" Michael looked at the boss nervously, fixing the glasses over his nose. He hated to be in the spot especially knowing that this was going to end violently.

"Boss, the cause was lost." Interjected Phil before Blip could respond. "I thought you were already gone and safe. The Batman was on top of us and…"

"You need to get your facts straight. The Batman was on top of ME, all two hundred and something pounds, pinning me against the floor; and you fucking knew it!" said Joker shaking his head in disbelief. Phil drew a gun and a muffled gunshot followed. He winced in pain and fell to his knees; the gun falling from his hand and hitting the floor with a loud clunk. The lady in black was holding a smoking silenced gun and was it aiming at the fallen man. Joker cleared his throat and started pacing around Phil. "What did I say about hostilities? Extremely rude, Phil…control your temper. Where was I? Ah, yes…What happened next? Tell our friends how, after I was arrested, you did everything you could to get me out of Arkham?"

Phil, in obvious pain holding his hand, glared at the boss. "Fuck you."

"Mind your manners, Phil, this is a private party." Joker scolded waving a menacing finger in front of Trenton's face. "Well, if you don't wanna talk, your friends can tell me, right? Jake, get Phil here a seat. He's my guest of honor. Charley, would you mind bringing up my witnesses?"

Jake grabbed Phil and by the hair and threw him against the chair he had in the middle of the room. The mountain man immobilized him with his broad hands pressing over his shoulders while he twisted Phil's injured arm. The entire group of people gathered in the ballroom, were looking at each others faces trying to figure out exactly what the Joker was planning to do next. Nobody even dared to even ask the Clown Prince of Crime who was abstracted with his guest. In the meantime, the lady in black picked up the duffle bag and started removing four small trash bags that she accommodated gently on the surface of the table. "Leo Steranko," she started announcing as she opened each bag to reveal a human head that she replaced carefully on the table to look at Phil. "Jeremy 'Trevor' Legger, Simon Asher, and Henry 'Kike' Maldonado." Phil's eyes widened with terror recognizing his associates, each of them with bleached skin and sporting a large rictus smile; their eyes opened wide and staring at him in like a horror movie. What type of tortures had they gone through at the hands of the Joker? There were some words of disgust from some of the people in the audience. Charley eyed the boss with a sinister smirk.

"Magnificent, my dear," the Clown Prince said clapping gently. "OK, guys, let's hear it. What did Phil do to save his beloved boss's life?" There was a long silence "...and to free him from imprisonment in that acrylic cage at the Asylum?"

"Is this why you called me here, you son of a..?"

"Shhh, be silent," said Joker slapping Phil in the face. He knelt in front of him with a throaty chortle in crescendo, his head cocked sideways with tender stare. "I'm trying to listen to your friends, Phil, but truth be told; the real exchange of information came while they were screaming in excruciating pain; and the things they said… tsk, tsk, tsk.

"You let the Batman beat me to a pulp because you thought I wasn't worth saving, after all, I'm a screwball, no? Then disappeared from the face of the Earth with my money and don't even have the decency to write or call me at the Asylum. I felt so betrayed, Phil!" The Clown Prince wiped a fake tear from his eye. "It took me months of therapy and electroshock to get over that feeling, you know? But I finally did it and realized I should not feel so bad. After all, this was a doomed relationship from the beginning and I should've killed you when the Bat rained in our parade...my bad." Joker started to walk away from Phil. "I just…don't know…expected more from you."

"You want people to die for you?" Flung Phil back, trying frantically to fight Jake's grip. Distance from this maniac was his only hope, but Jake held him with an iron grip. The black man twisted his hand and Phil protested in pain. "You're crazy if you think you can pay me or anybody here in this room enough money to take a bullet for you, Clown. You've done the same thing I did without thinking it twice."

"Phil, listen, listen. I know you were afraid. A close encounter with guano-breath can be terrifying, but instead… YOU HAD TO LET ME ROT IN THAT TINY PLASTIC CELL FOR ALMOST SIX MONTHS AND YES! I KNOW YOU LEFT WITH PART OF THE LOOT. THAT, SIR, IS A BREACH OF CONTRACT!!" Joker was now screaming to the top of his lungs and small veins had started popping on his neck and forehead.

"Then go to hell, Joker!" retorted Phil spitting on the floor. Joker drew his gun and took aim. His lips parted in a wide toothy smile.

"Maybe I will, but why don't you go first and reserve me a suite? Nothing fancy, just one of those with a nice view to the pit of fire." The Clown Prince fired and hit Phil point blank on the head. He took a closer look at his handiwork and then nodded approvingly. That took care of one problem, Joker thought as he replaced the gun in its holster, but he was still feeling this anger building inside like a tsunami. What was he missing? This man had betrayed him; he had suffered because of him so he killed him. But why did Phil not suffer as much as he did? Joker pulled his gun again and fired at Phil's body, until the empty chambers clicked and then extending his right arm popped a smaller gun from his sleeve and fired another round. He smiled and sighed in relief as he put both weapons away. "That's better. Messy, but much, much better… At least he's gonna get down to Hell fast with all that lead…Joker started to laugh softly. "Any questions, regarding this unfortunate incident, gentlemen?" Nobody dared to answer. "Good. Then let's talk some business."

Here's a little crash course in Spanish: _mariquita_ (sissy); _negro de mierda_ (nigger);_ pendejo_ (motherfucker); _cabron_ (bastard), _Que coño es lo que te crees, hijo de puta_ (who the fuck you think you are, son of a bitch?); _payaso _(clown); _señor payaso_ (Mr. Clown)

Eight Chapters, more to follow... TBC Please be kind enough and leave feedback. Yours truly, Jokerlady


	9. Gotham Old District

Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS

Disclaimer 2: Some language and situations might not be suitable for very young readers. Viewer discretion is adviced.

ENJOY

CHAPTER 9: GOTHAM, OLD DISTRICT

"Hey old man, how's it going?" said Nightwing jumping from the top of the chimney. The Batman did not answer. He was busy using a pair of binoculars to watch the large brick building in front of him. "I see things have not changed a bit since my last visit, have they? What's going on boss? I did not come all the way from Bludhaven to be given the silent treatment, you know?"

"I got information one or more of the Joker's associates might be hiding in this building. Maybe even the Joker himself. We are going to do our investigation and I needed your help."

"What about Robin?"

"When the Joker is involved, I would like to keep Robin away, same with Batgirl. You are stronger and more experienced. We both can handle Joker and his men."

"Got it, sir" answered Nightwing understanding that after Joker killed Jason Todd a few years ago, Batman has being extremely careful of whom he confronted with the madman. "Are we doing this with police support? I mean, if the Joker is here, this could get nasty."

"The police department has been alerted. They are watching all the alleys and they have a perimeter around the building. They are just undercover not to alert the Joker and his men. Once I signal them, they'll raid the building"

"You think of everything. Now, do you know were they are?"

"It's room 414. This is the guy associated with the Joker." Batman handed a picture to Nightwing. "His name is Michael Garibaldi, but he might be using the pseudonym of Blip."

Nightwing looked at the man in the picture, in his late twenties, overweight, sporting a nerdy smile and his eyes were reduced to tiny slits as if trying to focus far away. The guy obviously wore glasses.

"And what does this guy do? I don't think he's the brawny bodyguard type Joker usually associates with."

"Not a bodyguard, a hacker and one with a lot of history behind him. Garibaldi's innocent face has succeeded in fooling the police and me twice and that doesn't make me happy. He's wanted by the authorities, but most importantly, he seems to have a lot of valuable information on the Joker's funding and supplies."

"Then we might have two targets tonight." Batman nodded. "How did you find out abou Garibaldit and the Joker's hideout ?"

"All the information I have has been confirmed. The clerk at the computer shop in the corner confirmed seeing Blip often and a few days ago, when he bought a large amount of hardware. The building superintendent also confirmed renting a room to Garibaldi a few weeks ago and the apartment is still being paid for."

"Bruce, who's your source?" insisted Dick coming closer to Batman. There was something he was not telling him and a long and tense silence followed.

"Harley Quinn."

"What? You asked her where the Joker was and she just volunteered the information? Sorry Bruce, but for all we know this could be what the Joker wanted, to lure us here to catch him so he can blow us to smithereens with one of his deadly pranks?

"I know. Why do you think I did not want Robin or Batgirl involved. It's just…this is different. It was her who told Arkham security she could help me bring Joker back. You should have seen her, Dick. She was really concerned about the Joker's inactivity and silence. She's very confused as to why she is still in Arkham while the Joker is at large. He's not following a pattern."

"I'm not buying any of that bull shit!. She's a pathological liar, in love with the clown. Knowing that, you still trusted her?" Batman nodded in affirmation.

"Dick, I checked all the information, and she's been right on every account. Besides, this is also the only lead we have. Aside from this, it's as if Joker had disappeared from the face of the Earth and that makes me feel very uneasy."

"Joker gone for good? If only we were that lucky." Dick sighed. "Alright. We're here. A set up or not, a lead is a lead. I just hope we are not making a mistake here and walking to our own demise."

"Me neither. Are you ready?" Dick gestured affirmatively and Batman drew his bat-grapple and fired towards the roof of the building lodging itself on the brick chimney Batman jumped towards the building, Nightwing followed close by landed silently on the roof top. Nightwing picked the lock on the access door, pushed it open removing himself quickly from the frame. Dick hesitated for a moment, but Batman rushed inside. They went down two flies of stairs and came to a halt when they arrived to the forth floor.

"He's going to expect us using the stairs." whispered Dick crouching against the door.

Batman nodded and pressed himself against the wall, knocking ever so slightly while listening very carefully. Dick watched the Caped Crusader attentively. He took a tiny instrument from his utility belt and set it against the wall. He extended two small round pieces from the top the looked like bottle caps joined together by a metal rod and ran them along the wall. He repeated the same procedures with the other two walls and then the door frame. When done, he replaced the instrument into his pouch.

"There are no explosives on the walls or on the door. Just one more thing to check...let's see if we have a welcome committee." said Batman softly retrieving another small instrument from his belt. This one looked like a small portable television set with a long and flexible projection exiting from the top. Batman pushed the flexible end through the bottom of the door and turned on the screen. Immediately a slightly distorted image of the hall behind the door appeared in the monitor. By playing with the controls, the miniature camera that obviously was at the end of the projection rotated allowing a thorough analysis of the surroundings. "Clear."

"Man, nothing escapes you..." said Nightwing while Batman opened the door slightly. He motioned with his hand and both entered the hall. Dick started looking for the apartment number and after a few steps, stopped in front of a door and signaled Batman. When Nightwing was ready to bring the door down, Bruce stopped him and showed him a master key he had obtained from the building superintendent.. He turned the lock and opened the door wide retreating to the safety of the walls by the frame. Nothing happened. Both Nightwing and Batman peeked into the apartment. There was no one in sight; at least the living room looked deserted. They slipped inside with hands over their weapons, and looked around. The apartment was in disarray. There were newspaper sections scattered throughout the floor and there was a large plastic bag with what looked like trash lying on the coffee table. Nightwing and Batman divided to explore the rest of the apartment. Batman looked into the small kitchen that in contrast with the rest of the apartment was clean. The tenant must have eaten out everyday, Batman concluded, so the stay was never planned to be long. He moved over the living room and grabbed a folded Gotham Gazette from over the coffee table. The paper had a photograph of Batman that somebody had taken the time to draw over, adding an eye patch, moustache, a parrot on the shoulder, and a pair of earrings hanging from each bat-ear.

"Batman, you should come and see this." said Dick from one of the rooms. He was quickly joined by the Caped Crusader and Nightwing motioned to the wall above the headrest where the words** I HATE BATS** were carved roughly on the wall surface. "I think he was here alright."

"But not for long." Batman handed the Gazette with the altered photograph and entered the bedroom. He looked around and noted that the bedclothes were in disarray, the floor was dirty and littered with candy wraps. White chocolate… Joker's favorite. Batman saw the desk and tried the lamp that flickered before turning on. The desk had eight marks carved on the upper left.

"Creepy, don't you think? Dick asked joining Batman against the desk. "He doesn't stop thinking of you, does he?"

"No, never has. He's always been obsessed with me." Batman made a short pause and signaled to the marks on the desk. "Look at these. I think this was a very basic way of keeping track of time. See the letters under the marks? They correspond to the days of the week."

"Well, what now, detective?" asked Nightwing heading behind Batman and heading to the kitchen. "Did he leave a lead on where he went?"

"Unfortunately not. I'm afraid it's back to square one, with him still ahead of us "They both walked to the living room. "Dick, check that trash bag in the kitchen to see if you can find any receipts from the computer shop next door. I would like to know what Michael has been buying from the store. I'll make a quick survey of the apartment." Batman started to lift some of the newspaper, hoping to find a clue left behind on the floor.

"So Batman, how come this second-rate Blip guy was able to fool the police and you? Didn't he get arrested with the Joker last time?" A short silence followed.

"Joker always worked alone, at least until now, and has never talked about him. I don't think anybody else working with Joker knew Garibaldi's role, with Harley's exception. With no previous criminal record, the police charged Michael with minor theft and misdemeanors, and got away very easy; going back to the streets where he could just wait for the Joker's orders when the time was right. Like the police, I really believed that Garibaldi was just a confused kid, attracted by the promise of riches made by that clown. Now I know that Blip was much more important."

"How were you to know? I mean, the kid had no record and Joker was taking all the blame. Anybody would have been fooled, not just you."

"No, I should have known better than to underestimate the Joker's associates. I shouldn't let the minutest detail pass me by, because with Joker it will result in someone's death. It's just that Garibaldi is such an odd piece in this puzzle, always been. Why would a young kid like that associate with Joker? Why would Joker need a hacker?" Batman made a short pause and sighed. "Dick, I saw Garibaldi two weeks ago. He had the Joker's purple suit in the trunk of his car and told me this story of how he was selling the Joker's things to gang lords as souvenirs, trophies. Something inside me was telling me that there was more to him than that stupid story, but I never took Garibaldi seriously, I thought he was acting childishly, and I made the same mistake the police made and let him go. I put a tracking device in his car but he should've known because now I have lost all trace on him and the car and that was a careless mistake on my part. If I had him arrested that day…"

"We'll get him. And we will get the Joker too. We always do."

"There is something wrong, Dick. I can't put my finger on it, but the fact that we have not heard or seen the Joker for over a month now gives me an eerie feeling. It's like I'm missing something. Joker has never remained this quiet before."

"Maybe he's just having trouble reorganizing." Dick left the bag over the counter top. "There's not a single receipt in here. Garibaldi seems to be covering his tracks very well." Nightwing walked over to Batman. "You found anything?"

"No, Joker didn't seem to be in a hurry when he left, He had time to clean any incriminating evidence before leaving; all he left is literally, trash. He's way ahead of us. Let's see if forensics can find something else because there has to be something else. That's the way its always is with him...Joker can't be too long without been the center of attention."

"Have you talked to his old gang?"

"Nobody knows his whereabouts. He must be hiring new muscle. And he's doing it very carefully. Too carefully and organized for even the Joker. Meet me tonight at the cave, Dick. We will have more to work after the police sweep this place for leads."

"You got it boss." Nightwing answered as he exited the apartment.

Batman retrieved a communicator from his belt as he stepped out the door. "Gordon, he's not here. Forensics can clean the place."

Thanks a million for all the wonderfool Feedback. Keep it coming, all of it. In the meantime... TBC in future chapters.


	10. The New Beginning

Note: Wow! This chapter completes one third of the whole project. The response has been great...The stats are saying that many people are reading this story and the feedback so far has been wonderful. Thanks all! Feel free to drop a review anytime, even if you think the story is not that good (even if you think it sucks). I enjoy your opinion, and threre's always room for improvement, maybe even changing plots trends. Your feedback is important for me, so keep it coming.

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS.

Disclaimer2: Some scenes could be too hard on very young readers, viewer discretion advised

CHAPTER 10: THE NEW BEGINNING

"I don't want any business with you, Joker." Boss Garrison said walking away from the meeting, "I've lost valuable time coming here. I'm a very busy man."

"Why Harry…are you are afraid of the Big Bad Bat.?"

Garrison turned around and glared furiously at the Clown Prince. "You don't see it do you?"

"What?" Joker looked surprised.

"That you're crazy." The man in the monitor answered. Iago Thermopoulos was a well known mobster, of those that still practiced his trade in the old style of extortion and contraband. His Greek past was obviously still present in his face, with a prominent nose and strong squarely built face. He was well respected and more than that; he was feared, for he had quite a reputation with his short temper; with very violent outbursts if you got him really mad. Very difficult man to deal, that's what everybody said. Joker knew him through Blip who had bought some goods from Iago's large dealing stock for Joker's private 'marketing enterprises'. Joker eyed Michael who stood a few paces behind the monitor and the young man's eyes were opened wide, as if he had heard a ghost. Michael shook his head softly. Blip actually looked scared of the Greek crime lord.

Joker just stared at the monitor in silence for a moment. "What was that, Iago?"

"I've been listening to your nonsense and I have gotten to the conclusion that you're as crazy as always. Nothing in you has changed, Joker…you are the same wild card you've always been.

"Me, a wildcard? I'm hurt…after all I've been through to change..." Joker's voice cracked. "I really tried."

"Spare me those sad words, Clown. You are not moving me."

"I don't want to move you…I want to kill the Batman, and I alone cannot do it. Is that the ranting of a crazy man or the logic reasoning of a fellow businessman? You deal with drugs and sex, Iago and I know that the Batman has closed a few of your… markets. Are you going to let that overgrown mammal remove you from business?"

"You said it yourself, Joker. We are thousands and the Batman is one. He will never stop us, no matter how hard he tries. He's just a man, who doesn't get any younger and it's just a matter of time before the Batman will become a bad memory."

"Ahh, my naïve friend, that's the reason you will all become extinct. Batman is just one of many that will haunt your nightmares. Remember, I killed one of his sidekicks and what happened? Another one took its place. The same will happen with our rodent friend. The moment to stop the line of succession is now."

"And if you kill this Batman, you think no one else willfollow, right? You are contradicting your own logic, Clown." Tom riposted.

"You have to kill the Bat before the breeding season, Tom, only then the flying rodents will stop crossing Gotham airspace.," Joker said flapping his own hands by his side. "Because once they see what happened to the Daddy Bat…no one will ever dare take that cowl and cape again."

"And how do you plan on doing this, Joker. Making the Bat laugh to death?" Garrison said with a cackle.

The Joker glared and put his hand on his jacket. Garrison saw him and quickly retrieved a gun from a holster on the back of his pants and aimed the gun at the Clown Prince of Crime. The Leopards sheathed their guns and aimed them at the mobster with the rest of the Mafiosi quickly unsheathing their guns too. Joker started to giggle when he pulled a purple yo-yo from his jacket, making sure that everybody saw it.

"You people are just too nervous." Joke said starting to play with the yo-yo. Relax, this is a friendly party. No deadly pranks from the Clown Prince of Crime because he's on vacation...and the Batman lacks a sense of humor, so why make a joke about it?"

"Don't fuck with me Joker. You know I don't trust you."

"Too bad, Harry…" Joker threw the yo-yo down several time and then once forward hitting Garrison on the chest." …because with your help, I'm the one that can clean this city of the flying vermin." Joker threw the yo-yo against Garrison one more time hitting him on a shoulder.

"Stop that Joker…" Garrison said angrily.

Joker started to make figures with the yo-yo. "And I'm the one with the genius to fight the Bat in his own territory and win.., leaving you and your friends open space for profitable enterprises." Joker threw the yo-yo against Garrison who caught it in midair and pulled angrily from it.

"I said to stop it, Joker."

"You're not listening to me, Harry. You need to listen to me… "Joker smiled very wide and there was a spark in Garrison's hand holding the yo-yo. The mobster was thrown violently five feet back and landed moaning painfully on the bare floor. Dark Tom rushed to Garrison's side and helped the man sit up on the floor. Garrison's suit was smoking slightly. "And this is my yo-yo…if you wanna play, go and get your own yo-yo, fat-boy!" Joker kept throwing the yo-yo down towards the floor. "You all need to listen to me…I'm the answer to your murderous prayers. The pest control of your criminal dreams… I'm the Batmanator…." Joker started to laugh softly.

"You are the Crazy Clown that escaped from Arkham." Iago said through the monitor.

"Here we go again…" Joker rolled his eyes. "My deadly achievements run in the thousands: Gordon's daughter and wife, the First Robin…and so many more I lost count. Me." Joker rose and faced the gathered audience taking a bow. "Isn't that quite the curriculum vitae?" He started to laugh. "And I'm a hundred times funnier than Jack the Ripper."

"You just shot your second in command close to twenty times in front of everybody in this room, attacked Sergio with a gas bomb, almost barbequed Garrison... and you're still playing with that stupid yo-yo. I would hardly call that normal behavior."

"I'm a little odd, and yes, I was upset with Phil. Who wouldn't be? But insane is such a big word, Iago…I prefer the term "gifted". If I was really insane, the only one person breathing in this room now would be me."

"You're going to be even more gifted after I'm done with you, Joker" Garrison said angrily rising from the floor with Tom's aid.

"You can't improve in what's already perfect, Harry, and please, spare me the threats. You all know that I am the man for the job. I'm the only one with the guts to face the Batman and the only one with the slim possibility of winning. Come on place your bets on the best horse. It's a win-win situation."

"And how much is that going to cost us, because you're not working for free, are you?" Iago asked.

"Money is not as important as presence. What I want is to show this city and its vigilante that they are no longer fighting just the dealer on the corner, but a bigger, meaner enemy. And yes there is a cost involved…to pay for expenses. One fifth of your monthly income for six months, as payment for returning you a clean city. "

"I knew money was somewhere in the equation" retorted Sergio Ramirez between giggles after waking up from the forced nap. His eyes were red and swollen, his speech was slow, slurred and his accent extremely thick.

"Money makes the world go around, even in your side of the world. Sergio…you look tired… _tuviste una mala noche, compadre_?" Joker chuckled while Sergio glared back at him.

"And you are broke." Iago interjected. "What you're asking is ludicrous."

"_Au contraire, mon amie_. I have a plethora of resources. But why should I be the only one to invest the funds, when this is a plan that's going to benefit all of you? I think it is only fair that everybody does its part?"

"We put the money and what do you put in?" Garrison asked.

"I have already invested a large amount of the green stuff, boys, but I'm still supplying hardware, intelligence; and of course there is this handsome clown, setting all the details in person. You wanted freedom, right? Then let good ol' me direct the orchestra, and the spotlights will all be on me. Which reminds me…?" Joker extended a hand to the lady in black. She held his gloved hand and he slowly pulled her towards the center stage. "After my number two decided to quit living…I've established a new chain in command in this team. 'Mountain-man' Washington over there is in charge of the field tactics and security issues and all central intelligence should be addressed to Ms. Charley Almeida; she is my new number one. Talking to her is as good as talking to me. And to make our engagement official…an engagement present."

Joker produced a small black box with a purple ribbon on top that he quickly offered to Charley. Suspicious and very carefully, she took the box and opened it revealing a severed index, middle and fourth fingers joined together by a ring spelling TYRANT. She identified the name in the ring, which was worn only by the leaders of the Caesars' gang in Brenton.' Beside the fingers laid a bloody earring with a red feather. Jeremy Bloodfeather, the Caesars' second in command, wore an earring just like this. She looked at Joker who by now had a very toothy smile. She nodded in acknowledgment and he nodded back.

"This is not your organization, Joker. You were never part of this team." Iago said emphatically.

"I'm not? And who do I have to kill to get in?" Joker smiled. "Why don't you guys think this over and give this old clown a chance. I can get you places..."

"Sorry, Joker. But if you want to work with us you'll have to do better than just talk." Iago stated with a malicious half smile." We have to see more of this new you, before we can trust you. And so far I'm not impressed, just disappointed that my taxes have not gotten you the electric chair. You're incurable psychopath, Joker, a total nut." Joker glared to the man in the screen. "Maybe it's time you meet your maker…courtesy of me…."

"I agree with Iago when he says you are not trustworthy, Joker, so count me out too." Dark Tom said shaking his head. "You're just too crazy…too unpredictable."

"You're such a tough crowd to please." Joker made a raspberry. Don't blink but…YA'LL SUCK!! I'll give you proof you want and I can't wait to see you all groveling at my feet when you see my great genius defeat the Bat. Now LEAVE! Shoo, get out; au revoir; bye, bye; and don't call. You too, Iago… don't threaten me and take some time off... go get a trip to the Greek Isles or something…." Joker took his .38J and fired at the computer monitor in front of him and a large spear with a yellow banner embedded in the screen that shorted and started to smoke.

Everybody rose from their seats and headed out of the ballroom. Joker could hear them whisper, gossip between themselves, Sergio and Garrison, were now talking to each other and glaring at him as they left, and for the first time in his life he realized how much his insanity had undermined his authority. Prove himself? Preposterous! If he was the old Joker, the insane clown from Arkham, a few executions with a round of tortures and nobody would be questioning his request for funding this caper, but then, it would be the violent clown that had the control and not Joker. The clown needed some time off, the murders could follow later. Why was it so difficult to stay in control...he had tried with all his might to control this senseless urge to solve everything with bloodshed, but if he was not pointing a gun at someone, no one was going to pay attention to him. What had the Clown done to him? His credibility as a leader was undermined and that...even if he did not want to admit it...hurt...deep inside. What was this feeling? He never felt like this before. He was upset, he was angry, he was...remorseful? Whatever it was he hated feeling like this, and he needed some space to think, to be by himself. That always made him feel better. But first, he had to finish some business. As the room started to empty, Jake approached Joker and Charley joined them offering a glass of wine . He waved a hand in front of him and refused the drink.

"What do you want us to do with Phil, boss?"

"Deliver good ol' Phil to the police department. Bat-sap and Dumb boy are probably waiting for the bodies to start sprouting like weeds. Wait… what is a present without a card, right?" Joker fumbled into the pocket of his tuxedo and took out his diary notebook, ripping the last page. He wrote something quickly and folded the paper in four and using the pin with his initial that had substituted the well known boutonnière in his lapel, Joker pinned the note to Phil's bloodied clothes. He motioned to Jake who with the help of another Leopard, started taking the body away. "Don't forget Phil's friends. Send them via courier to Commissioner James Gordon. He'll make sure our Bat-brained duo gets them."

"There's still something bothering you, isn't it?" said Charley taking a sip from the glass of wine.

"You're good," said Joker with a large smile. "To tell you the truth I'm concerned about Iago. I think he's going to become a thorn on my side… that old dinosaur. Talking to me like that...I wish I had an asteroid to fling at him…" He chuckled and flicked his fingers. "Ka-plunk. Mass extinction and you're dead!

"Is he that important to worry you, Boss?"

"Important and dangerous," interjected Bllip from behind the monitor. "The guy is feared by most of these Mafiosi, and didn't you hear 'im threatened the Boss?"

"Shut up, Blip." Joker said obviously uncomfortable.

"You want me to take care of him?" Charley asked walking closer to the Clown Prince.

"Would you really?" Joker's eyes sparkled.

"It could be expensive, but if it makes you happy…" Charley smiled. "We love to see you happy, Boss."

"You really care...Ten grand for the favor, and if you bring me pictures for my scrapbook, you'll get extra credits." Joker smiled, obvious joy in his eyes. "But Princess, no jokes or playing cards on this one; it's too… cliché. Everything else is fair game, just let the bastard know who is sending HIM to his maker…and you know how much I looove torture…"

Charley kissed him softly in the cheek and came closer to his ear "You know you're sick, right?"

Joker put a hand on his forehead."Now that you mention it…I think I'm running a temperature. It's probably contagious." He giggled and saw her leave, her curved body swaying sensually, and with a mischievous look, she exited the room. The ballroom was empty by now, only Joker and Blip remained in the room. It was the first time it hit him but he was exhausted. It really had been intensive last few days.

"The conversation with Iago went well. It could've been worse." Blip said pulling the spear from the computer monitor. He handed the spear to Joker who waved it in front his of face. "You're lucky."

"Stale mate… Wait until the rematch..."

"So, what's up with the new look, boss?" Blip wound a bundle of cables tightly together.

"Batman wears his black cape and cowl since the beginning of time, so why can't I have a black costume of my own? This one is classier and Charley says I look more menacing in black and white."

"You always look menacing, boss; in any color. But that girl, Charley…I don't know. There's something 'bout 'er."

"A little jealous, ma' boy?" said Joker not able to hold a chuckle. The nerd was all fuzzed up by a girl, this was going to be funny.

"Me? No, no," responded Blip fixing his glasses. "It's just, that she's a new comer and she becomes number two and… I think I wanna say I don' trust her."

"I'm noticing a little hue of green in your voice, Blip. She might be my second in command but let me tell you a secret." Joker came close to Blip's ear. "She'll be the first one, and probably the only one when the bullets start flying. You on the other side are the little genius behind the curtain who works these amazing tricks. Like in the Wizard of Oz. I just need you to stay behind the curtains away from the bullets and the batarangs. OK, Munchkin?" Joker laughed and Blip smiled softly. "How is our little project going?"

"Going. I have the daemon design cracked up. I'll probably have a workable model in a few days."

"Good, good. You think we can run a field test of the program?" Michael nodded. "What about next week? Nothing fancy, just a little test. The sooner we start to roll the ball, the better position we are going to be to negotiate."

"I'll try to be ready then but to drop the real one I'll need the security codes or it will not be completely functional. You promised you'll have 'em soon."

"I know, I know. It's just that I've been sidetracked with this whole new me, but I'm working on it, really."

"This is going to be one of the boldest things you've tried, you know? I'm just hoping we can get it through."

"We are, my boy!" Joker walked over to Michael and put his left arm around his shoulders pressing the young man hard against him. "You and me; the Laurel and Hardy of Chaos. The Abbott and Costello of Terror. What a duo!" Joker laughed loudly. He tried to speak between chuckles. "Just keep a low profile until the time comes and we'll deliver the punch line that's going to get our faces in Mt. Rushmore."

"Or in the ten most wanted," said Blip under his breath

"Heard that, Dorothy."

"And the-you-know-who, sir?"

Joker let Blip go. "Oh, he's not going to be a problem for long. The Dark detective is working in his last case as we speak: _The Strange Case of the Missing Clown_." Joker looked at his watch then picked up his trench coat and fedora. "I'll be heading back to the old hide out. Need to figure out a nice place for our field test. Meet you there."

"Boss, before you go, I wanted to talk to you about a new computer chip that they have developed. It's the first prototype of real A.I. nanotechnology, very neat. I told you about it when you were out of town, remember?"

"Yes, yes, I remember." Joker smiled gleefully. Sometimes talking to Blip was like talking to a child.

"Well, I was thinking it could be useful. Imagine… artificial intelligence at the Joker's fingertips… lots of possibilities." Blip smiled back, and after short pondering, Joker started giggling and to assented with his head. He obviously had plans for something like that.

"And where is this marvel of technology, Blip?"

"WayneTech HQ is making an official presentation of the prototype to the mass media sometime later this week."

"Interesting. Tell you what, you set the logistics of the entire operation and I'll get it for you. I have a few ideas for that chip too, and I think it's time to make a move or my cowled friend will think I don't love him anymore." Joker wiggled his eyebrows. "Think you can handle that?"

"Don't I always, sir?" Michael smiled.

Yes, Blip always handled the logistics of his most complicated jobs, and Joker knew he could trust the kid on this. He put on his trench coat and his hat and fixed the scarf loosely around his face. "Let me see the details when you're done." Jake intercepted Joker before he left the ballroom.

"Taylor called. They got Brufford in the old funhouse, sir."

"Goody. Tell the boys I'll be there soon to speak with him." Joker chuckled, put on the trenchcoat and adjusted the collar around his neck while he motioned to Blip. "The story of your computer codes, Blip, starts with a lawyer in a funhouse…(cackle)...HILARIOUS!!" Joker left the ballroom laughing.

**Spanish crash course**: ..._tuviste una mala noche compadre?_ (did you have a bad night, man?)

TBC...Well, that's all for now. More postings will follow if the story is well received. Though the plot has been slow, from this point on, is picks up. Keep that feedback coming. Yours truly, Jokerlady (Isabel Gonzalez)


	11. Gotham Police Department

Note: You guys have enjoyed one third of my novel so far, and I'm glad for the response its gotten. Now things take speed and hopefully will keep your attention. Thanks to those that have left their feedback...(I'm continuing posting for you, guys), for those that have thought about it...go ahead, I want to hear from you all, the good and the bad; and for the others, please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related Characters belong to DC COMICS only.

Disclaimer2: There is some instances where I will present MATURE LANGUAGE and MATURE SITUATIONS. This chapter is another example so be warned... READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Now please enjoy...

CHAPTER 11: GOTHAM CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

_FORENSIC DIVISION 3:13 a.m._

"How long ago?"

"Dr. Miller said he was killed yesterday late evening sometime." said Gordon fixing his glasses over the bridge of his nose. "A few hours ago he was thrown out in front of police headquarter from a moving car with no tags and no license plate.

"He was Joker's number two. Phil Trenton." Batman said advancing towards the examining table where a white man on his early thirties, with long black hair laid halfway inside a body bag. The man's clothes and torso were full of holes and almost completely covered in dried blood. There was and obvious bullet hole in the man's forehead.

"Yes, he had escaped the night you arrested that clown."

The dark figure peered over the corpse. A black gloved hand examined the open wounds. "He was shot with two different calibers."

"Execution style. You could say that somebody was very upset with Trenton and Ballistics confirmed that he was shot with a .38 and a smaller caliber gun. Sounds familiar?"

"Joker uses a .38 and he had a good reason to be upset with him. The night I caught Joker, Phil didn't even put up a fight. He just left the Clown to his own luck." Batman checked Trenton's hands and arms. "There are no signs of torture or binding , but this wound in his hand...was Trenton carrying a gun with him?"

Well…no. How do you know?"

"I would say that Trenton tried to defend himself by using his and that's why his right hand was shot. After the execution there was no need to return the weapon to a cadaver. Either his executioners left it at the scene of the crime or kept it as a souvenir. Was there anything on the cadaver?"

"Addressed to you and all." said Gordon handing a plastic evidence bag to the cowled detective with a bloody handwritten note inside and a metal brooch inside. "This was pinned to his clothes."

_Dear Batman:_

_Knowing how concerned you are about cleaning my city from criminal trash, I decided to help you in your little crusade This piece of shit is my contribution to the cleaning effort. As always, more will follow because there's a lot of trash in my yard. Thanks for all you did for me. It really worked out well._

_Yours truly, _

_J _

"Anything else, Jim?"

"No, It's him, isn't he?"

"The handwriting is very similar to Joker's but not the way it's written. There's something very odd."

"If not him, then who? Do we have another murderer?"

"I'm not sure. You think I can keep the note… temporarily?"

Gordon approached the Caped Crusader and spoke softly. "How soon can I get it back? I will need to explain the delay on the arrival of evidence to the forensics laboratory, you know?

"Twenty-four hours, that's all I need."

"OK. I think you'll find more that the guys at the lab anyway. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"The note says that more bodies will follow Trenton's. I would appreciate if the department allows me a first look at the corpses. With Joker, it's better not to overlook any details."

"You got it."

The Batman walked over the window and stopped firmly at the frame.

"He made his first move, let's see if we can catch up with him." Gordon nodded and the Batman jumped off the window to disappear into the night.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Later in the morning Bruce Wayne returned to the bat-cave. It had been a long night of vigil and questions. He was investigating the whereabouts of the Joker and his worst nightmare was starting to come true now that bodies where starting to appear. It was imperative that he found that psychopath killer before more bodies starting resurfacing. He turned on the scanner and copied the letter image to a flash disk. Later he would be able to work on the handwriting analysis, but now he had to check the physical evidence on the letter. Bruce removed his cape and cowl and set the evidence bag in the hood over the laboratory section of the cave turning on the fan on the machine. He then sat at the machine

He put on a set of vinyl gloves. That will keep the evidence handling safe of contaminants or leads that could give the police a hint as to its previous location or more importantly, the fact that somebody had been tampering with the contents. With a soft brush dipped in a fluid of dark bottle from inside the hood, he started wetting the seal in the bag. After a few minutes of doing this the seal gave way leaving the rest of the bag intact. If only the police knew that those bags were not were not one hundred percent tamper-proof. He opened the bag and extracted the letter and the pin. He looked at the letter closer, then using a magnifying glass examined each centimeter of paper. It looked like regular white paper twenty pound, narrow ruled, off white recycled paper from a small notebook five and a half inches long by four inches wide and there wasn't anything especial about it. Any notebook will have this type of paper and from the way it was ripped from the notebook, it had to be one of those with the pages sewn at the center. Bruce took a one millimeter strip off from the bottom of the page. That will be enough to run some tests including mass spectrographic analysis to hopefully determine the brand of paper used, without damaging the whole evidence.

The ink used to write the note was black, from a gel pen, very smooth and uniform. The letters were small, written in cursive with all of them of relatively same size and written in close contact with the ruling of the page. From the slant of the letters he could infer it was written by a left-handed. Joker was left-handed. He sprayed the letter with a clear misty aerosol and passed the paper through a scanner. No fingerprints, he was not surprised, just disappointed.

Bruce read the note again. If the Joker had written this note there had to be a hidden message, something really funny for the Joker. But what? He always had problems trying to understand Joker's sense of humor. "What are you trying to tell me, Joker? What clue are you leaving me behind?" Bruce said examining the letter with a magnifying glass. The note was written in a very proper manner addressed politely and signed very formally. This note was short, to the point and Joker's typical notes were long the letters would be large and ornate running into the exhuberant and accompanied of clues of his next murder. This note only promised that the body count would go up and Bruce didn't need Joker to tell him that. This was indeed a strange note.. Maybe the whole note was the joke, but what joke? Maybe he was making a mistake altogether by taking the note as Joker's handiwork in the first place; the author could be somebody else completely, but whom? Someone whose name started with a J?

Then it was that line that bothered him. "…_Thanks for all you did for me… it worked out well?_" Thank you for what? Batman had always thwarted Joker's plans and sent him back to Arkam, is that what he was thanking him for? And why did he say that it worked well for him. It made no sense. And if this was not Joker…then who had he helped that will prompt a thank you note like that?

There was not much else that he could get from the note until he could test the piece of paper to determine the manufacturer. He took the brooch that accompanied the note and examined it closely. It was an oversized letter J in white metal, with a small purple stone, resembling an amethyst, on the spiral the letter's tail made at the bottom. On the back by the clasp, he saw an engraved .999. This was not a cheap accessory. It was made of almost pure silver and he didn't doubt the amethyst was real. This brooch should at least sell for close to a hundred dollars. "Why are you giving me this expensive gift, Joker? You want me to know it is you, don't you?" Bruce said as he ran the clasp under the UV light. There he noted a small black fiber stuck to the clasp. He took the fiber and after cutting a small section that he put on a slide, set the rest on a test tube and sealed it. He checked the brooch for fingerprints without success. He returned the note and the pin to the bag and slowly resealed it. Perfect. Nobody will notice that the bag had been opened before.

Taking the slide with him, Bruce removed his hands from the hood and closed the glass door. The bag will be safe for the rest of the day. He took off the vinyl gloves and stretched in the chair. His back was sore, but there was still one more test… he needed to identify the fiber. Bruce walked over to the microscope and set the slide on the microscope stage. He focused the objective and turned on the small monitor on the table by the instrument. The monitor showed a split image of the objective with the fiber visible on the right half of the screen. Using his electronic tablet he opened the Bat-computer library and multiple sets of images started flashing on the left half of the monitor. After a few seconds there was finally a match: Satin. The owner of this brooch was probably wearing something formal at the time, a dress…a tux…a formal uniform, but black, Joker? Bruce whispered under his breath. "Black is not a color in your rainbow, clown…unless you were not the one wearing this…but then…who would?"

Wayne looked at his watch and could not believe he had spent already almost five hours going over the evidence. Evidence that did not revealed anything relevant to the case.This murderer was being very careful with the leads he left behind and for the first Bruce really considered that there was a very slim possiblity this was not Joker's doing. He'll have to wait until he analyzed the piece of paper and that could still not be too productive. He heard voices coming from the stairs above, almost like whispers then steps.

"Good morning Bruce." Dick Grayson's silhouette came to clear view emerging from the shadows of the entrance accompanied by the butler. "Came last night, but Alfred told me you hadn't arrived yet. Something came through?"

"Yes. Joker's number two was dumped in front of the police department early this morning. He had been executed Mafia style the day before."

"Do you have suspects?"

"Joker seems to be the most likely suspect."

"What you mean 'most likely'?" asked Dick sitting against a desk looking directly to Wayne. "Didn't he leave his signature all over the corpse?"

"Not this time. His MO is different. No calling cards, no smiling corpses."

"Odd for the clown." Dick walked over the computer were he saw a scanned image in the monitor screen. "What is it with this note?"

"It was pinned to Trenton's body. I've run a complete gross analysis and so far have found nothing conclusive."

"Did you see the signature?"

"Yes, but don't get biased by what you see. The letter could still have been written by someone who wants us to blame the Joker for the murder."

"But deep inside you know he wrote it, right? I mean…who would want to frame Joker, really?"

"I hate to draw conclusions… but I do think he wrote it; just don't know why. Joker has been known to change his handwriting style according to his moods. But the handwriting and style of this letter are so different from previous notes…so minimal, organized. And the content is so simple, and at the same time cryptic. Look at the last line… I don't understand the meaning of this message. It's not funny, and I can't see a clue as to his next move...not the note I'll expect from the Joker. "

"Maybe the joke is that there is no joke." Dick said resting against the desk. "Expect the unexpected, remember?"

"Joker is a slave of his psychoses. He really believes he's a clown, and clowns make pranks, make jokes. In the past, it had been obvious, he liked taunting me, a kind of 'catch me if you can' attitude. Now it's just… different."

"Always the detective, aren't you?" Dick sat at the console. "Well, while I was waiting for you I did some detective work of my own and called a few friends in Bloodhaven and it seems that they know your hacker too. Well known guy from what I've heard."

"Yes, he has an extensive file in the FBI on identity theft and hacking into Federal Agencies. Do they know his name or where is he now?"

"No, unfortunately not; but one of my contacts said that a few months ago, Blip had visited some chat rooms and websites bragging about some of his crimes. He was also asking some questions about Federal Prison system in Gotham, including your favorite: Arkham Asylum."

"Well, that seems to answer who might be behind Joker's latest escape. Any new information of what Blip might be searching for now?"

"They have not seen or heard of him since but my friends are keeping their eyes and screen monitors open. Haven't told them the whole story but did tell them that any information could save lives. They owe me some favors."

"All the pieces start falling into place. I'm just waiting for Joker to start his game in the open. His inaction on his part is unsettling on the least." Both crime fighters were interrupted by the beeping of the computer. In the screen there was a window that read INCOMING CALL: GOTHAM POLICE HQ: GORDON, J. Bruce clicked the right button of the mouse. "Batman here, Commissioner."

"Batman, sorry to bother you this early, but I just received a package in my office signed with a large letter J. I think is the same guy that wrote the note on Trenton."

"Jim, if Joker sent that package, your office might not be safe."

"Don't worry. I already called the bomb squad and the package has been cleared, twice. We opened it and you would not believe what was inside. I think you might want to see this yourself."

"I'll be there." Batman turned to Dick but he had already disappeared up the stairs.

"See ya' there old man." Bruce heard a voice coming from upstairs and realized how similar he and Dick really were. He adjusted his cowl and got into the batmobile speeding away to Downtown Gotham.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The amusement park was located in the outskirts of the city, in what used to be called the Old Gotham Fairgrounds. A long time ago, it had been a lively place, were the people of Gotham could take their families for healthy fun and entertainment. That was until the economy changed for the worse and the park was forced to close. They promise of returning soon when things got better; a promise no one ever fulfilled. Instead, the Ferris wheel, the carrousel, the fun house and the other games stayed behind as a testimony of the decaying city economy and time took its toll on the equipment. That's why Joker loved this place so much. He liked not what it represented when it was a working amusement park, but what it had become after decades of abandonment. This place could kill people if someone was not careful and that made the Joker smile with so much glee, that he felt as happy as a little boy with his new pair of roller skates. Pain and joy. Life and death. Always together, and now in one place…Joker couldn't ask for more.

Two black sedans parked in front of the fun house and a few men got out of the cars with guns on their hands and fingers nervously on the triggers. The sun was starting to rise above the skyline and the men seemed very concerned of the shadows that were starting to get drawn in the corner of buildings and equipment. From the second vehicle, Joker bounced out, cane in hand landing with his hands extended in a stretch. He was still wearing his black tuxedo and let the cane heavily down on the ground.

"Calm down boys, the guano-breath was here already." The Clown Prince said walking towards the entrance to the funhouse.

"And how do you know?" Jake asked catching up with the Boss at the entrance. Joker, signaled to the door with his cane. It was ajar and presented two large distinctive marks on top of the lock. He tapped his cane around the marks

"Those, my boy, are the claws of a bat. I remember having this door fixed up last time the Batman was here, and look at this…the madman doesn't know the meaning of NO TRESPASSING or PRIVATE PROPERTY."

"But how do you know it was the bat and not some junkie trying to find a place to stay the night?" asked Jake once more while looking around nervously. Joker searched in the pockets of his jacket for a few moments. Then he opened his eyes wide and produced a curved piece of metal, about four inches long, that though battered, still resembled a claw. Joker placed the tip of the metal piece in one of the holes and after playing with the orientation finally made it fit in place almost perfectly.

"That is the tell-tale mark left by a batarang, Jake. Know your enemy and learn to read the signs they leave behind. He forced his way in to try to save Commissioner Gordon and that was over five years ago. New door and now this…He was here already, Jake." Joker entered the building and walked through the long hall of mirrors that distorted his image from tall to short to fat to just weird looking patterns. He stopped in front of one that severely distorted his image to the point of reflecting black, white and green swirls with no distinguishable shapes. "Wow! That looks like my brain before my morning coffee." Joker giggled and kept on walking down the corridor.

"What about cops. Wouldn't they be around waiting for you to return?"

"Seriously. I think they would have grown tired of waiting after a while, and they will have no reason to think that I will return to this place. I never do…well; the Clown at least never does. No reason to be sloppy, though, it will be wise to post a few guards…just in case we get unexpected visitors."

Jake nodded and walked back to the entrance. Joker and another thug continue walking until he reached a large room, with a scary Jack in a box in the left corner, receiving him with an evil smile. The floor and the ceiling were black and kind of dusty, but the walls were covered on drapes of every imaginable color and pattern while multiple cards, most of them with jokers, were stuck on the walls with knifes through them. On the right were the only pieces of furniture in the room; two wooden chairs side by side. One of the chairs was occupied by a large, overweight man tied with his hands back and a black bag over his head. The fat man was dressed up in a kaki suit, sporting a tie with a palm pattern in green and brown. In the middle of the tie, he wore a pin in the shape of a question mark. Beside the man, two of Jokers thugs, Taylor and Manny from the Leopards and Terrence's crew awaited respectively .

From the way the man was trembling and his legs shifted position constantly, he definitely knew something was going on around him. The Clown Prince took the empty chair by the man, and moved it noisily around. The large man jumped startled by the noise. Joker smiled. He loved the feeling of terror he could induce in his fellow men. He motioned his men to remove the bag from the man's head.

"Hi Oliver. How you doing, ma' boy?" Joker said turning the chair around backwards and sitting while resting his arms on the back support. The shudders on the large man had turned to an obvious shaking. Joker smiled gleefully. "Hope my boys have been treating you well?"

"J-Joker, please. Don't k-kill me. I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"Of course you will, but who said anything about killing?" Joker smiled wide. "You're just here to chat with me."

"What d-do you w-want to t-talk about, Joker?"

"You like my decorator?" Joker giggled as he extended his cane over his head showing the whole room to his unwilling guest. "It took effort, but I think it was worth the time."

"P-pretty. Very m-much you!" Oliver smiled timidly. Joker stared at the jester head sculpted at the top of his cane.

"Very much me..? Apparently he doesn't know about you. Talk to you later, you handsome clown," the Joker said to the cane laughing softly as he then turned his eyes to the large man on the chair. "First things first, Oliver…how's Eddie being doing these days?"

The man looked at Joker suspiciously, then looked at the two thugs beside him. "Nigma? W-well, f-f-fine I guess."

"Too bad. I'll have to do something to make his life miserable." Joker answered resting his face in one hand while he smiled complacently. His white ghostly face was beaming with enjoyment. "Well, let me ask you something, do you know of a Colonel or Brigadier in the defense department that's pretty close to Mr. Nigma? I really need to find this man."

"You'll have to be a little more specific, Joker. Edward knows a lot of military people."

"I know. Eddie is well connected, but this is someone who has access to the computer mainframe in the defense department, very high ranking officer from what I've heard. . Worked in IT for the Defense Department, used to work for the Star Wars Project, that kind of thing. I know firsthand that Riddler was very fond of this guy; an 'especial friend' I heard him call 'im once."

"Edward might have been bragging about it, Joker. You know Riddler. If you want to give me more d-details I…." the man was startled when the two men pushed him against the wall. One of them handed Joker a medium size wooden box that was filled with darts. Joker grabbed one of the darts in his gloved hand.

"Any more details and I won't need the name anymore. Look, Oliver, I'm a very busy man to waste my time playing with you. I need some information that I know you have about this gentleman" Joker started to roll the dart in his fingers. "Now, you see these little toys? I made them a long time ago and had them impregnated with one of my favorite exotic poisons: curare…or was it strychnine..? Anyways, the problem is I couldn't finish all the darts and I can't remember which ones are poisoned and which ones are not. Maybe between you and me we can find out. What you think, Ollie?" Joker threw the dart at the sitting figure but instead it got embedded in the wall by Oliver's right ear. Joker grabbed another dart. "There's a catch though. With great sorrow I have to admit…I don't do darts too well."

The man's eyes grew wide and he started to sweat profusely. "Mr. Joker, p-please. I'm telling you the t-truth. "I really want to help you find this officer, I swear, but I need…" Joker threw the dart hitting on the wall high above Oliver's head then giggled.

"Damn! I need to practice…I really suck at this!" Joker said grabbing another dart. "Alright Oliver, here we go. One more time…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bruce sat at the table where oatmeal, toast and a large glass of orange juice waited for him. He was spent. He had only three hours of sleep since last night and being up this early in the morning was definitely not part of the routine. The technological expo at Wayne Tech was coming soon and requiring a lot of time during the day spent in meetings that revolved around the earliest hours of the morning and dragged for long hours without the hope of ending any time soon.

What had happened to those days when people got up at noon? He will have to talk to Jeremy regarding having these meetings a little bit later during the day, when he would be able to rest after the long hours of city patrol as Batman. At this rate, neither the Caped Crusader nor Bruce Wayne will last long. Alfred, Bruce's faithful butler, appeared through the door, on his white shirt and the necktie half done around his neck. He had both sleeves rolled up to the elbows and he was sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Sorry to interrupt your breakfast, sir, but the morning paper just arrived."

"Good to see someone in this house is a morning person," said Bruce with a smile. Alfred did not smile back. Instead, he presented the newspaper ceremoniously to his master. "What's going on Alfred?"

"The newspaper, section titled _Dear Rebecca_, third letter down." Alfred answered taking a seat by Bruce who browsed the paper until he found the aforementioned section and read.

_Dear Rebecca: _

_I'm part of a troubled relationship. My other half, which I will call "the bat" for his nocturnal strolls, doesn't care about me. He doesn't talk nor listens to me and we haven't been intimate since God's knows how long. He doesn't even laugh at my jokes anymore, Rebecca and I have an excellent sense of humor. He had gone to the extent of calling me psycho…would you believe it? You think this relationship is over? I certainly do and I'm going to end it once and for all. Need your expert advice on what to do. Yours truly, Ever smiling J._

"Joker." Bruce said putting the paper down.

"Seems that the clown is trying to make a joke. A lame attempt if you ask me."

"We need to contact the newspaper."

"And you, Master Bruce, need to attend a meeting at Wayne Tech so I will take care of notifying the police. Let the Commissioner investigate this one." A tense silence developed between both men. "With all due respect, sir, isn't this the kind of humor you were expecting?

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The door to the elevator opened and a tall slender redhead on high heels and wearing nothing but a short, pink bathing robe stepped out and started to walk down the hall when two men intercepted her.

"Excuse Miss, can we help you?" The man in the red Oakley shirt and very short ash brown hair said approaching the redhead. His right hand was behind him as if holding the back of his pants.

"Actually you can, handsome," answered the redhead while she fanned her hand. "I'm trying to find a Mr. Thermos…. No…Thera…oh dammit! Why do they give me these clients with difficult names?" She searched in her bosom and pulled a small piece of paper. The man in the Oakley shirt pulled out a gun at the same time. "Oh my!"

"Sorry to scare you miss, but you just…"

"Oh no need to apologize, darling, is that…I have not seen one that big in a long time…and believe me I've seen a lot." The redhead licked her lower lip and smiled perversely. The man smiled back." But you're not going to use that on me, are you?" She read the piece of paper. "I really need to find Mr. Thermoupoulos. I have an especial delivery for him."

"You really shouldn't be here, Miss." The other man said with an obvious Hispanic accent. He was wearing a nice dressy white shirt and a very thin black tie. In his arm he was carrying a black sporty jacket.

"Why not, '_guapo_'? You mean this is not his floor?" She smiled. "Tell me, _rompe-corazones_, do you have one as big as your friend's? I would really like to see it."

"What he means is that Mr. Thermoupoulos, does not receive unexpected visitors at this time." The man in the Oakley shirt interrupted.

"But how…what's your name, cutie-pie?

"Mark…"

"Well, Mark, at the agency they told me everything was going to be all right. One simple delivery, that's all."

"May I see the package, please?" Mark said extending his hand with a smile. She nodded and undid the small ribbon holding the bathrobe closed. Underneath the red-head was wearing a very small pink bikini, barely covering anything at all. Her body was perfect; skin soft and smooth cream color; breasts, firm and round, inviting the men to try them personally and her bellybutton was adorned with a navel ring featuring Tinkerbell. Both men just stared dumbfounded. "Well, what do you think?" She asked swinging her hips sensually. She saw Mark move his lips but no words came out. "I see you like it, Marky. Do you think Mr. Ther…whatever his name is…is gonna like it too?"

The Hispanic man, pushed Mark forward and the man started to search her, but she felt that he was more trying to benefit from the opportunity to touch her body in more than one way.

"She's clean, not a single weapon...I don't think she can hide anything in there (he, he)"

"Did you checked everywhere…why don't you search again. Marky?" The redhead said perversely. Mark blushed and smiled softly. " I really like the way you search people."

"Wh-who sent y-you?" The Hispanic asked.

The redhead giggled. "Boys, boys, boys. It is illegal in the US to open someone else's mail but if you want to know…" She pulled a little card from the bathrobe and offered to them. "NUDIGRAMS. We deliver anywhere in Gotham….Your satisfaction is guaranteed, or the next one is free."

"Not really, who sent you?"

"OK, I had enough." The redhead said angrily as she closed the bathrobe. "If you guys are gonna be difficult and don't let me deliver this Nudigram, I'm not gonna argue… I still have another delivery to make. But mark my words…someone loves Mr. 'whatchmacallit' a lot to pay that much money and it's not gonna be a happy person when finds out the message was not delivered. "She turned and started to head back to the elevator when Mark held her by her arm.

"Look, we're just doing our work."

"Me too, and unless you want to use my services…unhand me… or pull out your wallet."

Mark sighed. "Ok, you're coming with me, lady. I'm gonna let Mr. Thermoupoulos decide. But if I suspect you're trying anything funny, I'm gonna kill you. OK?

"Oh, Baby," said the redhead biting her lip. "The only funny thing I want to try with you, needs to be done in private." She came closer to his ear. "… maybe after I deliver my last message tonight, you and I can get together and…you know."

Mark smiled perversely to his partner. "OK. Now, just follow me."

The redhead was guided down the hall, escorted by Mark in front and his Hispanic partner behind until they arrive to a door with a room with the number 567 on the door. Mark knocked twice without getting an answer. He knocked two more times and a man yelled from inside.

"Who the fuck is it? I'm busy"

"It's Mark, sir. We got something for you. "There was a rustle inside and a set of steps came closer to the door that opened revealing a man in his forties dressed up in a robe, with coppered skin and a prominent aquiline nose.

"What do you want Mark? The man asked eying the two men at his door angrily.

"Well, sir. This came for you." Mark handed him the card the redhead had given him. After quickly reading it he gave them a quizzical look.

"Is this a joke, fellas?" Mark and his Hispanic partners shrugged and shook their heads. The man with the aquiline nose stared at the woman behind them who waved at him effusively.

"Are you Mr. T?" The red head asked coming through the two men to meet the man at the door. "Can I come in? I have an especial NUDIGRAM for you." The two men pulled their guns again. "Ahhh, come on boys…not again..."

"Who sent you?" The man asked.

"The Agency. Didn't you read the card?" The redhead saw a woman coming from the kitchen area wearing an open men's shirt and black laced underwear. The woman stood by Thermoupoulos. "Oh, great! I love threesomes. "

"I asked who sent you." The man growled.

"Joseph," she responded opening the bath robe and letting it fall down to the floor.

The man's eyes sparkled as he fixed them on her breasts. "J-Joseph who?"

"Joseph. That's all I know. Any more…and you'll have to call the agency."

"You want us to take care of her, Mr. Thermoupoulos?" The Hispanic man asked.

The man pulled the redhead inside and motion his men to come in. "Close the door, behind you." He looked at the redhead attentively. "You…. Turn around for me."

She smiled and obeyed. "Oh you dirty…" He was transfixed on her beauty and even the leopard tattoo on her right shoulder looked gorgeous in his eyes.

Thermoupoulos undid his robe and smacked his lips. "Deliver your message."

"Now? Aren't we the impatient type…" She started to dance, swaying her hip sensually in front of the men when she stumbled. "Damn shoes…you mind if I dance for you barefooted?"

Thermoupoulos shook impatiently his head while the Redhead remove her high heels. With an audible click, twin blades appeared from the heels and the redhead swiftly flung one of them to the Hispanic man embedding it on his forehead. With the other shoe, she stabled Mark between the legs and then slit his throat. The redhead threw the shoe to the girl behind Thermoupoulos hitting her on the chest. The girl rolled her eyes and fell lifelessly to the floor. She retrieved the gun from Mark's dead body and aimed it at Thermoupoulos. All this happened in a few short seconds and Thermoupoulos was just starting to react to what had happened. The redhead smiled.

"You are either very brave or very crazy. You'll never leave this building alive." Thermoupoulos was sweating.

"I'll go for crazy…Learned from my boss. Mr. Joseph Kerr sends his regards..." Thermoupoulos looked at her puzzled. Her smile widened "…you can call him Mr. Joe…Kerr and let's see who doesn't leave this building alive…swine."

"You don't know who you're dealing with." Thermoupoulos riposted.

"Oh yes I do…a depraved bastard." The red head put a hand over her ear. "Hey guys, come in and meet your new playmate…"

**Spanish Crash Course**: _guapo_ (handsome); _rompe-corazones_ (heart-breaker)

PS: Well there it is...let me know how you like it. Yours truly, Isabel (Jokerlady)


	12. Home Sweet Home

Hello friends. Thanks a million to those that have sent their encouraging feedback. For you guys, THANK YOU, GRACIAS, MERCI, GRAZZIE, DOMO ARIGATO and an New chapter in the Joker story... Keep that feedback coming, the good and the bad. I love hearing from you all.

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: In some instances MATURE language and MATURE situations are presented in the story. Reader discretion is adviced

Now, here it is...ENJOY!

CHAPTER 12: HOME SWEET HOME

Joker entered the hideout and the lights automatically turned on. It had been a long time since he had used this underground lair and the stale smell of the place confirmed his long absence. This place had a special meaning for him, and retuning to it made him feel like coming home again. Maybe it was the fact that this was the only place he has been able to keep hidden from those pigs at the police department and the Bat over the years; being underground rather than above ground had its advantages. Blip had done a great job at arranging the security of the place from the coded security access door to the automatic lighting and environmental system. He had to admit that this is the best this place had looked in years and he congratulated himself on having hired such a talented mind for his gang. Who knows, maybe this kid was as brilliant as he was. Joker couldn't contain a guffaw; nobody was as intelligent as him, not even the Bat.

Or maybe he loved this place was because this is where he made his most elaborate and successful plans, like the classic work of art he did with Gordon and his daughter. That had been a masterpiece and people still talked about it all over town. Who knows, maybe it one day it will make it to a book or maybe a comic book for the kiddies. Joker grinned. Maybe even a movie directed by Quentin Tarentino.

"…and the Oscar for best murder scene in a comedy goes to…the killer clown on the right." he said giggling. "But since the clown couldn't make it tonight, Jack will pick up the statuette. Right, Jack?"

He was now laughing very loud as he walked towards his personal quarters at the end of the large common room when he noticed the large green sofa to the left. His purple suit was resting on one of the armrests…and he missed that suit… LET ME WEAR IT ONE MORE TIME, JACK…

He sighed. That was the time when the clown was in control. He needed to leave behind the wearer of that suit for the moment in exchange for the death of the Batman and the fulfillment of his destiny. Fair exchange…for now. The shadow of the Batman had successfully thwarted his plans too many times, sending him to that dark solitary acrylic cage in Arkham where nothing was fun anymore. He had a chill. That will not happen again he promised himself.

There was an electronic pad on the office door. Joker removed his glove and put his hand over the cold flat surface. A short sequence of pings and blips played musically before he heard the door unlock. He opened the door and slipped in a theatrical manner; with arms extended to the sides, chest high and thrust forward, one foot slightly in front of the other. He could almost hear the standing ovation in the silence of the place. An ovation just meant for him, organized by the thousands of ghosts of all the people he had killed in the past and whose memory now populated the maze of his mind.

"Elvis has entered the building, ladies and gentlemen, hobos and tramps. Crossed-eye mosquitoes and bow-legged ants." Joker said with his hands falling heavily to the sides while he let out a bellow. IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY WHEN YOU'RE AROUND, JACK. SPOILSPORT." It just wasn't the same. He wanted living people giving him a standing ovation while they died. He took off his trench coat and fedora and set them nicely over the red velvety armchair in the corner. He looked around the whole place. It had been a really long time since he last visited this office.What...four years? The walls were painted in a soft lavender color with sparsely distributed spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds and there were two large windows covered in tinted glass that overlooked the large common area in the hideout where he had come from. He walked over to a collection of yellowed newspaper clips pinned on one end of the wall. Some of them just a historical tribute to his multiple crimes, many of which showed his picture with large news headlines all in vivid color, while some others were just old announcements of exhibitions and important places he had wanted to raid or people he would have liked to murder. He smiled. "So many plans, so many dreams and one oversized bat, I'm about to kill."

Joker walked over to the large mahogany desk by the wall with the clippings and removed the jacket of his tux, setting it on the back of the leather chair while adjusting his gray printed vest over his waist. He felt the wood as he ran his hands over the two carved jesters on top of each of the wooden legs; a real work of art, especially commissioned by him and worth a fortune since the artist was now long dead. He sat on the leather chair chuckling softly while he spun in it as fast as he could. He stopped playing with the chair and stretched climbing his feet on top of the desk. –It's definitely good to be home—he thought to himself opening a drawer from the desk and retrieving a cigar. He could use a smoke, but he could not remember if this was one of his regular Cubans or one of his exploding cigars.—Those will blow your head away—he thought as he replaced the cigar back in the drawer. Maybe later, when he remembered where he had stored his real cigars…

On top of the desk sat a picture frame with a picture of him and Harley Quinn in front of an exploding building. He frowned. Harley had always been a loose cannon; an airhead blonde who lacked talent and was too blinded by her own insanity to see the scope of his vision. She had caught a bullet or two for him, true, but that was all she was good for. The rest of the time, she was just a royal pain in the butt and he was happy that for once she was not around. He made some mocking grimaces at the picture of Harley and sighed. Then something strange happened. He realized…he missed Harlequinn. Why? It wasn't that he cared, and it was true that Harley could be a nuisance and he could say that part of him despised her, but there was still as a little part of him that missed her too. No matter what he said, she had made him laugh; she was fun to be around, and he was not having much fun these days. He shook his head. "This is not fun…this is business," he whispered. Business is just business and unfortunately, in business like this there was no space for losers like her. He grabbed the frame and let it fall into the trash can by the desk as he waved it goodbye.

Joker yawned. It had been some long and exhausting days. He was drained after the meeting with Brufford and that damn meeting with the Gotham underworld. Nigma's lawyer was not very forthcoming with the information, and decided to expire before Joker had a chance to finish the interrogatory. He should have thought of Brufford's frail heart before playing with his darts. Joker hit him with only four out of thirty darts but they apparently had enough curare to finish the lawyer's life. It was funny to see the lawyer slowly stiffen up until breathing finally stopped, knowing that the heart was still beating. Brufford was still alive by that time and feeling the life abandoning him would literally have scared Oliver to death…and the heart could only take so much. "Too much cholesterol, Ollie, not good for the heart…and too much curare." Joker whispered as he started to laugh loudly. His heart filled out with glee. Oh well, it was time to think of something else to get those computer codes or Blip was going to be very upset.

On top of that, the trip to Brenton had left him with a severe case of insomnia. Every time he tried to close his eyes and rest, strange and menacing images played in his third eye; so disturbing that Joker opted to reduce the hours of sleep to a minimum, only a couple every night, in the hope that those ghost will get tired and would stop chasing him.

Today's Gazette sat on the table. Joker lifted it and started to sift through its pages. Maybe there was something here that might challenge his brilliant intellect to devise a worthy test subject. He needed to know if he was able to go through with it before the great day where he would share his logic bomb with the whole world. Jeez, a bomb. Charley was right. He really liked blowing up things…Joker chuckled.

The cover had mentioned something about him and he tried frantically to find the article until he finally saw a small note in a corner of page six with his name in the headlines followed by a short paragraph that didn't mentioned him at all. What a disappointment… "My letter to Rebecca was longer than this," Joker said with a snort. He grabbed some scissors from a drawer under the table and cut the note from the newspaper, then folded it several times until it was a tiny square that he started to knick here and there, and very much at whim.

"How many people do I have to kill to be in the front page of the newspaper?" Joker whispered. It hasn't been that long since he escaped from Arkham to be forgotten so quickly. He was not used to being ignored, especially by the media. "I'm not part of the background, people, I'm the main attraction," he said remembering the times in which he felt like a fly in the wall in his own home. "No more li'l poor Jack…" He unfolded the newspaper clip to reveal a cut outline of a bat. "I'm more important than that, right Batsy?" He chuckled as he made the paper bat fly over his desk. "You still think of me. Day and night, but more nights than days, don't you chum? The Bat and his murderous Clown…"

He violently cut the bat's head off with his scissors. "Only problem is …there's no clown here today. Just good ol' Jack." Joker cut the rest of the bat in tiny pieces and let the pieces fall over his head like snow. He smiled perversely "…and this Jack's gonna kick your butt, then have your blood spilled, make sure that you're killed, and left out to rot..." He tried to laugh, but it just wasn't the same. There was something missing and he knew exactly what it was. He could not see comedy like he used to these days. The truth was that this sanity crap was taking the joy out of crime. "Just a little time, Joker, and we'll laugh together again." The clown said under his breath. "I DON'T LIKE FEELING LIKE THIS, JACK, ITS JUST NOT US… he heard a voice in his head. Joker answered back combing his green wild mane with a hand. "No, it's not us anymore… it's just me. Let me do what I need to do, OK? Everything's gonna be alright." Joker continued sifting through the newspaper when he heard the voice again…"YOU ARE TAKING TOO DAMN LONG…HURRY UP OR I'M GONNA MAKE YOU REGRET THIS…He assented with his head… he needed to finish this job expeditiously so he can get back to that little world inside his head and regain the joyful moods that he had been missing. Maybe then, that little voice will stop...

One of the headlines caught his eye. The new Davenport Arena was going to open to the public offering a concert by the Four Aces, a band of alternative rock that was the talk among the young people of Gotham and maybe the whole east coast. Joker sat back in the chair to ponder. That promised to be one large event. After the remodeling, the arena itself could sit about forty to fifty five thousand people at a time and the ad said that the event was almost sold out. That much people, posed a safety hazard, but what could go wrong? The building was totally revamped with the latest security and safety features, wasn't it? Joker reflected in the idea of things that could happen. He smiled. Fifty thousand souls would be getting their eardrums pierced by the strident noise they called music and no one will be paying attention to anything but their beloved band, a window of opportunity for anyone in the mood for a practical joke… OR MAYBE EVEN MURDER, YES!!! Oh, the possibilities… and the clown had a wonderful idea.

Extending over the desk he turned on the computer and three monitors came to life with an animated picture of him smiling. He smiled back and playing with the wireless mouse he opened the media player and clicked on a few files. Immediately music filled his office, starting with the classical resonance of Orf's Carmina Burana and Joker stretched in his chair with his hands on the back of his head and eyes closed. Now that was real and invigorating music; not the facsimile that they were going to play at the Arena—he thought, and he started humming to the tempo. He thought of the Old Spice commercials, the waves hitting violently the shore, making a thunderous sound, just like an explosion. He cleared his mind to grasp the harmony and internalize the composition's wonderful structure… and the choir…screaming…in darkness…in pain, sweet, horrible pain…the most wonderful show on Earth…

...a_nd the first thing he saw was the two elephants. The two massive pachyderms wore colorful panaches on their foreheads and their tusks were adorned with golden caps that glistened under the main ring spotlights. In the background he could hear the drums and metals of the band that played the circus theme. Behind the elephants were the trapeze acrobats, then the jugglers and the caravan of wild animals being wheeled in their cages into the main ring. _

_"Look honey, here come the clowns. Wave…smile." He heard his mom say. Jack sat at the edge of his seat, peering above the crowd to take a closer look at the clowns that started to arrive at the ring wearing their extremely colorful clothes and those oversized shoes. They waved at the crowd, and the children called to them to get their attention. Some of the clowns were throwing candy at the audience and that made the children even more frantic on their yelling and screaming. Jack thought he was too far to get noticed but maybe one of them might see him if he screamed loud enough. From his seat he called for the clowns and waved both arms wildly. _

_One by one the clowns went by without even looking up to his section in the audience and no candy had been thrown his way yet. Then Jack was surprised to see the last clown stop in front of him. His hair was wavy, wild and green as the grass in summer and his face was thin and white as a ghost with the only hint of color coming from his blood red lips that were stretched into a macabre smile. The clown wore a lavender suit with a double tail hanging from behind and his pants had long stripes of yellow, green and magenta. Jack could feel the eyes of the clown cutting through him like tiny knives. He stopped waving and cowered in his seat. _

_The clown did a reverential bow extending his hands and Jack stopped looking at him. He was starting to get really scared. The clown fumbled in his bag and threw some candy in Jack's direction, and a sharp knife stuck itself in the armrest of his seat making him jump. Jack looked at the knife and then back at the clown who smiled sinisterly at him holding some dead animal in his hand…a bat. Jack turned to look at his mother, when he realized he was no longer part of the audience. Instead he had been magically transported to the ring arena and was now part of the entourage of clowns. He was dressed in an oversized green shirt and pants with white polka dots and wore shoes that were three times his size. He felt the pointy hat on top of his head. The perverse clown was standing beside him and had started dancing around, throwing candy at him that was mixed with maggots, dead flies and spiders like it was confetti. Jack was by now terrified and searched frantically for his mother that he found in the audience where he had been seating moments ago. She was laughing and pointing at him, in fact the entire audience was laughing at him. The laughter was loud, almost deafening. Why were they laughing at him? This wasn't funny. He wanted to get away from the crazy clown and the audience but every time he tried to walk away another clown blocked his path. It did not take long to have all of the clowns around him._

_"Going somewhere, boy? You owe me, you know?" the clown said in a singing voice. The clown searched in his candy bag again and produced a UZI. "Here. This should be enough to take care of them." _

_"No." said Jack backing off from the clown._

_"You have no choice but to release your anger, boy. Can't you hear them laughing?" The clown cocked his head tenderly. "Come on, Jack, we've done this before; it was fun."_

_"No! I told you there are important things I need to do first."_

_"But what happened to all that death and mayhem that you and I used to share? The murders we committed during those rainy days…the horrific chaos we brought this city in Christmas…."_

_"I don't care."_

_"Jack, Jack, Jack. You can't lie to me, boy," the clown said patting Jack's cheeks. "You've always cared; I know you. You always yearned to put a bullet in someone's head. That made you happy. Now, make them pay for what they've made of us. It's their fault and they are laughing at you now. You know you want to do it. Remember how it made you feel…"_

_"How it made me feel?" Jack shook his head gently without loosing sight of the clown green eyes. "This is wrong."_

_"No, Jack. The only pain and suffering that's wrong is the one that happens to you. Otherwise it is an extremely funny joke and it's not over until there is no one left to laugh." The evil clown turned back furiously behind him were small kids were laughing frantically. …"Arrrghh! Stop laughing, brats. I'm trying to be serious here, and you're all driving me nuts." The clown searched in his bag and produced a hand grenade that he threw at the kids after releasing the pin with his teeth. It exploded upon contact with the bleachers sending tens of tiny body parts flying into the air and blood splattered everywhere. There was a sudden silence, and then the clown started to laugh. "Now, that's funny. Human confetti…oooh." _

_"If I don't have control the bat will not go down and you're out of control."_

_The clown turned to him and glared. "You want to see me out of control, you little piece of shit? I'll show you out of control." The clown said whistling and waving his had high in the air. Jack heard a rumble behind him and when he turned to look, he saw both elephants charging angrily towards him. His entire body started to shake in fear. He tried to run away from the elephants but the clown held him tight under his grip, turning him towards the charging elephants._

_"Lemme go!"_

_"Are you crazy, and miss all the fun? Look Jack, they are coming for you. Do you hear them Jack? They are coming even closer, Joker! Whoo-hoo! Mr. J. you're going to be history. Ha, ha, ha. Are you listening Joker? Joker, are you OK?!"_

He opened his eyes; his pupils were wide with terror and his mouth open in a scream that did not seem to want to leave his throat as he felt the alien grasp. Joker grabbed the arm that held him against the chair firmly and extended his left one towards the mountain man's head. A small caliber gun popped from under his sleeve and he shot at the huge black mountain of a man. The figure let go of him in just enough time to get out of the line of fire leaving half a sleeve in the process. The bullet hit instead the large tinted window in front of him shattering the glass thunderously. In a few moments there were half a dozen men at the broken window and the door, weapons unsheathed.

"Yo' crazy or something, man?" The mountain man said raising from the floor and drawing his .44 . " Yo' could've killed me, ass hole."

Joker finally realized where he was and he had done. In his office Charley, who was wearing his fedora, was sitting very tense on the red velvety armchair, her eyes wide and attentive. Joker's green eyes narrowed on the large man that was now yelling at him while he pushed the small gun back under his sleeve.

"You ever sneak up on me again and you'll to be wearing lead bling." Joker growled.

Jake wanted to answer back at him with his gun but he saw Charley wave at him subtly. He put his gun back in his holster and walked out fuming from Joker's office.

"Well, there's nothing else happening here. Everybody back to work." said Charley getting up from the chair and walking towards Joker at the mahogany desk. Everybody put away their weapons and walked away. "That was not very wise, Mr. Joker."

He glared at her. "Whose side you're on? He sneaked up on me."

"You sir, where having a seizure or something and I told Jake to try to wake you up. That's when you decided to pop a gun from your sleeve and shoot Jake. You're crazy." She put the fedora on his desk.

"Oh, that's right. Blame it on the nutcase," said Joker grunting while getting up and walking towards the broken window. "It's going to be expensive to replace this glass."

"Forget the glass. Keep it up like this and you will either end up in Gotham's morgue or facing the Batman all by yourself, boss. Are you always like this? No wonder they say you're insane."

"I got a little carried away that's all. Can you deal with Jake? He listens to you. In this business, I can't have enemies within the ranks, you know?"

"Let me handle Jake, OK?" Charley rested against the desk and started playing with the small Jack-in-a-box on the corner of the table. "By the way, I'm curious. What was wrong with you? Did you have a seizure?"

"No, I was…" Joker walked over to his desk and leaned over resting with both hands on top. He took the Jack-in-a-box from her hand, when suddenly it popped open to spring a grinning image of him. He set the Jack-in-a-box on the opposite corner of the table "…forget about it, it's not important. I'll be better when the Batman is dead and buried. Then I'll bury the nightmares and memories with him." Joker looked at Charley with a wide smile, but his green eyes looked sad and weary. "You really think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Crazy? Because you've been certified by a board of psychiatrists as a legal nutcase, and shoot people out of the blue for the fun of it? What makes you think so?" Charley smirked.

"This is the sanest I've been in years, Princess." Joker chuckled softly. "I don't think I'm good at doing sane."

"That's scary. You mean it can be worse?" Charley responded putting both hands over her chest and faking a terror face.

"Much worse, dear. You haven't met my friend the clown. He's a riot." Joker giggled.

"Heaven preserve us." Charley said faking surprise. "Boss, meant to ask you before, you took care of the Caesars' in Brenton, but what about the Highlanders'?

"The Highlanders were easy to handle once they found out what I did to the Caesar's chain of command. You only saw the ring and the fingers… and that earring was driving me nuts." Joker cackled softly. "Who wears earrings that big?"

"What did you…?"

Joker put an index finger on his lips. "Shh… trade secret. Think they felt the fall of Rome was close and they agreed to my terms without much opposition. Brenton belongs to the Leopards as long as I'm around. Otherwise…I make no guarantees." Joker laughed lauder. Charley smiled, but you could read some resentment in her face. This clown was capable of anything…and that was too much power for a madman.

"Now what's the next step to show the Gotham underworld you mean business?"

"They know I mean business. I took Iago out of the race, didn't I?"

"In the works…" Charley said with a half smile.

"They should be impressed by now and if not…well, what better than to have Batman dance at my own tempo and them watching us dance?" Joker pulled Charley close to him, one hand out the other around her waist. "Shall WE dance?"

"Don't seem to follow you on this one." He started to lead Charley into a silent waltz spinning around the room.

"Batsy must be scratching his cowl as to what is the motif behind these murders. He speculates it's me, but then they're NOT so me, that his head must be spinning by now. And while he's trying to profile me using the old me, because he doesn't know about the new me; this saner, more methodical, restrained, and… (I even hate the word)…logical Joker is about to bring havoc to this city."

"The plan is then to confuse the Batman and the police?"

"No, Princess. The plan is to bring this city to its knees and when they see their dead bat on the ground, among the rubble, they'll realize who owns this town." Joker smiled gleefully. "Yours truly. Confusing the bat and the pigs are just the means."

"But the underworld…"

"They don't care who you are, just that you can make them rich and I will make them a little richer, giving them Iago's piece of the pie to divide between themselves. That's a lot of money, you know, and now everybody knows to better not challenge me."

"Don't you think they will want you out of the picture more than before?"

"No way, they're terrified. I'm the alpha male and at the same time, I'm just your average Joe. Get it? Joe…Kerr… and Jokers laugh the most." The boss started to laugh. "And then they will all come groveling to my genius and my power." The dance picked up speed, Joker was humming the Emperor's waltz.

"Your ego is going to your head. I think you should slow down because Batman is quite a resourceful detective and if you give him as much as a hint, he will be on top of you before you can say 'smile.'" Charley pushed Joker away softly. "Stop boss, you are making me dizzy."

"It doesn't matter how hard he tries, Charley, Batman is no match for me. I'm Gotham's Emperor. "Joker pulled Charley close once again and giggled." You know, Princess, I dreamt I was emperor of the universe once …"

"Stop daydreaming, this is important. I think you should wait and slow down with the Batman. Take him off track."

"I don't follow you now…" Joker frowned.

"It will better not to face the Batman until he's weak enough. Remember, study your enemy, and exploit his weaknesses. I have an idea… lure him to Brenton, there the gang can take care of him and soften him up a little…" Joker suddenly stopped dancing and looked at Charley sternly.

"Ah, ah, ah, Princess. Brenton is off limits. I don't need the flying mouse to make any…" Stopping in mid-sentence, he softened up his expression, his green eyes sparkling gleefully. " What I mean is that you people are not ready to handle my Bat. Nobody can treat the bat like me… or is it mistreat?" He wanted to start giggling and waltz again when Charley shoved him off.

"I said you're making me dizzy…don't want to dance anymore…especially when you're making no sense. I think the clown is still lingering somewhere in your head."

"Party pooper. Have it your way." Joker sat on his table and smiled. "Is it Christmas already? I'm in the giving mood tonight."


	13. Four Heads and a Duffle Bag

Thanks to all those reading this novel, and thank you for all your comments. Please let me know what you think of the story so far. All your comments are really appreciated, the good and the bad

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: Sometimes there are sections with MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Readers discretions is adviced.

Enjoy this chapter...

CHAPTER 13: FOUR HEADS AND A DUFFLE BAG

"So what do you think?" asked Gordon approaching Batman who was examining one of the heads closely.

"Joker venom, no doubt, but you knew that."

"Aren't these guys the ones that abandoned him when he got arrested, including Phil?" Nightwing asked. Batman nodded without saying a word.

"Then that's his motif. He is killing those that betrayed him." Gordon said taking folding his arms over his chest.

"Joker has never needed a motif to kill anyone in the past. But when he did, he always had something to say, a smart comment, a pun, a joke and this package is totally mute." said Batman setting Leo's head back into the bag. "This is the Joker's style, but at the same time, it's not like him. Even the initial on the package is written differently than the one on the note. This is not his handwriting."

"You think Joker might not have committed this crime?" asked Nightwing coming close to the caped crusader.

"On the contrary, I'm sure this is Joker's handiwork. Not many people have access to the formula of his venom and he had more than one reason to take care of Trenton's group. It's just that I'm not having any communication from the Joker and that is very unlike him. Why is he not gloating over his murders?"

"Maybe because there is nothing to say?"

"True, but that has never stopped the Joker from making jokes and making fun on me for not being able to stop his crimes. He gets pleasure from that kind of games. Were there any notes attached to the 'package', Jim?" asked Batman

"None whatsoever. Not a single note or Joker card."

"And the courier?"

"Someone paid him two thousand dollars for the delivery, otherwise he doesn't know anything." Gordon said taking a few puffs from his pipe

"That's one expensive delivery." Nightwing said.

"Joker does not behave like this. He would be letting us know how clever he is and would be leaving a challenge for me; a note, a card, especially after paying so much money for the delivery. He's making sure I get the corpses because he wants me to know he did them, but Joker's never been able to shut up so why doesn't he gloat?"

"This looks like one of the Joker's sick jokes, design to mess with our minds. I think it has his name all over the evidence." Gordon took a drag on his pipe then released the smoke softly through the side of his mouth. "It really doesn't matter if it's his typical MO or not…this is one more murder under his name."

"Yes, it is, but I think this is just part of something bigger, and I want to know what."

"The clown is insane, Batman."

"Even the Joker's insanity has a pattern. Joker wants to make sure I know he is responsible for these murders, but at the same time, he's reserving his energies for something more important…these murders are a small piece in a much larger puzzle…He's playing by a different set of rules this time, because this is just the beginning of his game." Batman stood by the window, his arms folded over his chest, his cape over his shoulders, running down to the floor, giving him the appearance of a black blotch of ink against the city skyline. "You know about the newspaper note, right Jim?"

"We received a call this morning regarding the note. We investigated the newspaper, and the editorial offices said that the original arrived via email. When we tried back tracking the electronic mail, there was not such address."

"Basically, untraceable."

"Garibaldi." Nightwing said.

"And where ever Garibaldi is, Joker is not far behind." Batman walked over to the young crimefighter.

"Any idea what the newspaper note meant?" Nightwing asked.

"Don't know. It's as cryptic as the one in Trenton."

"I read it. It seems to be just one of his stupid jokes." Gordon replied.

"Or a challenge. He did say that he was going to end our 'relationship'..." Batman rested a hand on his chin. "I'm getting tired of this little game Joker wants to play with me. I need him in the open and I need him to play by my rules."

"In the meantime, what do I tell the press? Is this the beginning of one of the Joker's killing sprees?" Gordon asked

"He's not in a killing spree. These killings are systematic, where only his previous associates seem to be the target. He seems more worried in cleaning his house than murdering innocent people, at least for now, and that is very unusual for Joker. Unfortunately, I think that it's just a matter of time before the innocent start falling pray of that Clown."

"So this is just a game?"

"Not for Joker. Murder is a means to make comedy, to show off. His murders have always had that theatrical air to them and murdering innocent people seemed funnier to him because he knew I would play his game and try to stop him at all cost. The game he likes to play is to challenge me and prove that he can outsmart me. He has not started to play yet."

"Then these murders are not part of one of his crazy schemes."

"Not these. That's why they have a more detached feeling. More of something the Mafia would do. The rictus smile is just his signature. Trenton's death was an execution but it lacked a signature, so Joker added the note. He still needed to sign his handiwork.

"Joker is back."

"I'm afraid he is, but I am afraid this is just the beginning of something bigger that we have not even begun to scope. Joker has been the prankster, the homicidal maniac, the thief, and the terrorist. I'm afraid this might just be his new face for murder, a new version of himself."

"I don't understand." Gordon said

"Joker reinvents himself every so often. Creates a new personality and develops new traits. The transition is difficult to trace because I don't know what he has become, so the old pattern is interrupted, and it's not going to be until I elucidate this new pattern, that I will not have an idea of what he's going to do next. This could explain why the sudden change in MO."

"The media needs to know that the Joker is back, and that he might be more dangerous than before. We have to keep the clown's death toll as low as possible."

"That would be wise. In the meantime, we need Joker to work more in the open. I need to find out this new pattern, figure out his new game. The problem is that Joker wants to remain in the background and I am just picking up his crumbs. I need more than crumbs to figure out what the main course is…"

"You have a plan?" Bullock asked stepping forward from the door frame where he had been standing since the arrival of the Caped Crusader.

"I need Joker to be more active. Move around, play his game. Only thing I can do now is wait and see what he's going to come up with next. Maybe he will leave a clearer clue behind."

"You need him to kill more people." Gordon said heavily.

"I understand how you feel, Jim, but unless we know what Joker is up to…neither of us will be able to stop him. He plays by his own twisted rules. And until I know his rules, I will not be able to follow his game of force him to play by mine." Gordon took a puff from his pipe and turn around heading to the door where he could hear the reporters on the other side. He talked to the policemen at the door and they started to escort the reporters down the hall.

"Hope you know what you're doing Batman, because reinventing himself or not, I'm not going to allow that clown take the life of any other innocent citizen of this town…by any means necessary."

"I understand." Gordon left the office following behind the group of reporters.

"What now?" Nightwing walked over to Batman. "You're not just going to sit and wait, are you?" Batman retrieved a PDA from his utility belt and started to write on it.

"No. With Joker I can't afford the luxury." Batman started to walk towards the door. Nightwing followed very beside the Dark Detective.

"I knew you wouldn't just sit there…"

"I cannot have Joker dictate the rules of the game. It's too unpredictable, too chaotic. I need him to play by rules I can predict, my rules."

"So what is the first step?"

"To give Joker a taste of his own chocolate." Batman responded getting into the elevator. "Something Joker can't resist."

"Why didn't you tell Gordon? He was not too happy with your decision to stand by."

"For what I have in mind…Gordon would not have approved. Besides, if he's not involved it'll be best for both." Batman locked a flash disk on the side of the tablet and after the electronic tablet beeped twice handed the disk to Dick. "Take this and make sure it gets into the newspapers tonight without being tracked."

"What's this?"

"White chocolate…Joker's favorite." Batman smiled softly. "I have to attend a presentation at Wayne Tech this evening. Meet me at the cave later tonight. There are still some analyses that I need to run on Trenton's note, and I would like to go over the results with you. And with a little bit of luck Joker will have a sweet tooth and go for the bait."

The elevator door opened. "Got it boss. See you there."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The exhibit hall at WayneTech industries resounded with a hundred voices. There was at least that many people congregated there already from reporters to program developers to just curious techno-geeks wanting to see what was new in the world of computing technology. Bruce Wayne arrived at the building, much like a movie star in his limousine and was received by a dozen reporters upon his entrance at the exhibit hall. Digital video cameras and even video phones flashed in the main entrance to the Wayne Tech building, and the reporters, like raptors over their prey, were all trying to get a glimpse of the normally elusive millionaire playboy.

"Mr. Wayne, what do you think of the unveiling tonight?" said a reporter with a wide round face fighting the wave of people pushing him around.

"No, Mr. Wayne, please this way. Do we expect to see a Mrs. Wayne soon?" Another reported called.

"Mr. Wayne, what applications do you predict for this new chip?" Asked a lady dressed up in a tight black dress with golden accents, getting very close to the millionaire. She was tall, extremely beautiful, with ash brown hair running down to her back and, muscular yet feminine complexion, her dress nicely delineated her body not leaving much for the imagination. Bruce looked at her with awe, mesmerized by that smile she was offering him in exchange of some words for her recorder. Bruce stuttered, trying to say something intelligent when Jeremy Wilson, the president of marketing at Wayne Tech appeared and interposed himself between him and the sea of reporters.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please. There will not be any comments until after the presentation so if you are all so kind, Mr. Wayne is just going to enjoy the atmosphere and the questions can be asked later." Jeremy guided Bruce through the crowd reporters; all of which kept their cameras rolling and their microphones open just in case something important was said in transit.

"Thank you, Jeremy," said Bruce under his breath. "They were getting a little aggressive back there."

"The press…got to love them even when they want to tear you apart."

"I'm seeing more than just program developers here, Jeremy."

"I thought it would be a good idea to bring some important people into the mix. We talked about this, just for the ratings."

"I know, but bankers…musicians…and isn't that Jessica Randall the novelist?" Bruce waived at Randall who gave him a wink from over the group of people she was talking to. Bruce smiled timidly and continued walking along Jeremy who had started to slow down at the drink station.

"Yeap, just the best of Gotham and the world. It will add to the pizzazz."

"You're crazy, Jeremy."

"Not crazy my friend," Jeremy offered Bruce a glass of wine, "A man of vision. The way I see it even Jessica will be using your chip in her computer when she writes her next blockbuster novel."

Jeremy made the impression of typing something in the air and Bruce took a sip of the glass not able to hold a smile. "Has the government contacted you already?"

"Contacted me?" Jeremy chuckled gently. "I'd say they are more likely harassing me. They are very interested in the military applications of this new piece of technology."

"You know how I feel about that, Jeremy."

"Don't worry Bruce. I understand. That experience with Luthor Technologies in Metropolis must've left a sour taste in your mouth, and your skepticism in the defense department is perfectly understandable. You'll deal with them again when you're ready; in the meantime, there are a lot of people in the private industry looking forward to that chip."

Maximillian Davenport, the banker and a very important investor in Wayne Technologies approached Bruce and Jeremy offering a friendly hand. Bruce still remembered that Davenport was almost killed by the Joker when he tried to kidnap him. In that instance, the Batman had sent the Joker to Arkham, but right now Davenport reminded him of the inability of keeping the Joker behind bars too long.

"How you doing, ma' lad? Remember my wife Lucia?"

"Good, Max…Mrs. Davenport." Bruce made a respectful reverence and Davenport's wife smiled. "Looking forward to the unveiling of a new possible investment, Max?"

"Of course. New technology is something always worth investing on. Mr. Wilson has been promising that this is the best thing since the invention of the light bulb."

"That and more," interjected Jeremy with a smile. "It's gonna open a new window in the development of real artificial intelligence. The dawn of real 'intelligent' machines is near, gentlemen. Just think of the applications… R2D2, Data…To boldly go where no one has gone before…" They all laughed.

"We'll see Jeremy, we'll see." Davenport shook hands with the marketing president. "In the meantime, the food here is excellent. I think I'll have some more of those wonderful hors d'oeuvres. Need to tell me who did your catering…"

Bruce and Jeremy nodded with a smile and Davenport disappeared, along with his wife, among the sea of people over to the food bar set up on the back. Wayne quickly looked around the room for another familiar face when he noticed that the reporter in the black dress was looking at him intensely. He grabbed a glass of wine from the drink bar and leaned over Jeremy's ear.

"Be back in a moment. I think the press wants a piece of the millionaire playboy."

Jeremy looked over and saw the lady in the black dress. He smiled perversely and growled. "Go get her Bruce."

Bruce Wayne walked around the crowd holding the glass of wine precariously in his hand until he arrived by the reporter who was looking at small demonstration of the future applications of the microchip technology in a small monitor. She looked gorgeous, and those emerald green eyes and a body to kill for in that tight dress made her look more like a wild exotic beauty.

"Maybe a little refreshment is in order, Miss."

"Thanks, but I'm not thirsty."

"Actually, this is a silly excuse to start a conversation." Bruce put an innocent look on his face and offered the glass again. The lady accepted the glass with a soft smile.

"I'm just here for the microchip unveiling," she said dryly and Bruce felt like someone had poured iced water all over him. It was highly unusual to find a reporter that was not interested in an interview with Bruce Wayne, after all the man did not make many personal appearances. It was time to warm up the environment around them.

"I don't think I got your name."

"I didn't give you my name," the reporter said with the glass of wine dancing in her hand untouched.

"It's that I didn't see your badge…"

The lady pulled a badge from her small leopard hand purse momentarily so he could see it and quickly put it back in. "This…look very silly, like wearing dog collars with name tags. Besides, it doesn't go with my dress." She chuckled softly. The lady was beign very difficult but he loved the challenge. Bruce smiled.

"But there has to be a way I could call by instead of '_hey you with the lovely smile_…'" The reporter smiled softly, almost timidly. "Let's start from the beginning. Hello, my name is Bruce Wayne…."

The reported looked around as if trying to find someone on the gathering, then smiled again. " Persistent, aren't we Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce lifted his glass and smiled. "They say it's my middle name."

She eyed him suspiciously and raised her glass. "My name is Charleen."

"Just Charleen?"

"That's all you need to know for now. The rest…you'll need to earn, Mr. Wayne." Charleen smiled softly.

"I'm up for the challenge…and what news agency do you work for, Charleen?"

"I'm an independent reporter." Charleen looked around once more.

"Waiting for someone?"

"Actually… I have a date, Mr. Wayne."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know," Bruce felt like an idiot. He should have read the obvious signs that the lady wanted to be alone waiting for her date. "My deepest apologies, it was not my intention to…"

There was a commotion on the back of the room and he heard someone laughing loudly followed by a loud thud. Then someone screamed. Absentmindedly Bruce looked in the direction of the noise and saw a group of people wearing animal masks and carrying large guns in their hands

"Nobody moves and nobody gets hurt," said one of the men with the tiger mask. The other men were pushing everybody against the walls. Bruce started to step back, trying to avoid the group of masked men and conceal his retreat when he felt something grab his arm. When he turned, the only thing he saw was the room spinning around him. He felt a strong pain on the left side of his face and was overwhelmed by a strong sense of vertigo that forced him on the floor.

"Going somewhere, Mr. Wayne?" Bruce lifted his head and saw Charleen in front of him, with an evil smirk on her face. Still dizzy, he tried to get up but the reporter kicked him with such force that he ended up kneeling with his face pressed against the cold floor and blood trickling down his chin.

"You millionaire playboys are all alike… slimy cowards that think you can have everything you put your eyes on. You disgust me, Mr. Wayne." Bruce's head throbbed and he felt the entire room around him spin as if he was riding a carrousel at the speed of sound. The yelling and the screaming in the room were just a distant whisper that seemed to belong somewhere else...far, far away.

"Ouch! I don't want to see you in a bad day, Princess," said a male voice that Bruce recognized too well. With great effort he pushed himself up, while still on his knees and looked at the man that had spoken. The man, with his ghostly white face, curly green hair, and wide smile was wearing a grey suit and black shirt with a purple tie. The black and shiny shoes sported matching purple spats. In his hands he held a black Humphrey Bogart hat.

"Joker!"

"Oh, hello there Mr. Wayne. Don't need to get up." Joker giggled while he grabbed Charley's hand and kissed her softly on top. "Keep the rich boy in check, baby. He looks like the dangerous type."

Joker kept on walking through the open space that his men had created for him with a lot of interest on the little exhibitions and interactive presentations all over the place. He finally sat at a computer terminal in one of the exhibits, inserted a CD that he had retrieved from his suit into the CPU, and started to type on the keyboard. His men in the meantime kept shouting instructions to the terrified people in the room to drop their cell phones, wallets and jewels into the bags that the masked men where passing around. One of the masked men brought Jeremy Wilson to the station where Joker was working on.

"W-what do you want, Joker?" Wilson said timidly as the man with the hyena mask hit him with the back of his UZI with enough force to hit the floor with his face. The hyena man pulled him back up by the hair.

"It's Mr. Joker to you, Mr. Wilson…The rudeness I have to put up with…" Joker sighed while he typed on the computer. "I want that microchip everybody is talking about and I want it now." He finally looked down at Jeremy with his large smile. "Or I'll kill everyone in this room."

"I-It's under lock and k-key."

"Do I look like I care?" Joker growled as he violently rose from the chair and grabbed Jeremy by the lapel of his suit. The clown pulled his .38J and pressed it firmly against Wilson's head. "Make yourself useful and unlock the chip unless… you don't have the combination, in which case you're no good to me anymore." Jeremy tried to say something but no noise came out of his mouth. "I'm not gonna ask again, Wilson… give me that chip or I will splatter your brains on the floor in a beautiful Post-modernist style with Inquisition undertones for everybody here to enjoy? Your choice." Bruce tensed in the floor; he had to do something. The Batman was needed urgently. He tried to move but the lady in the black dress attacked him by surprise and pulled a taser gun from her purse. He felt a sudden pain in the side and his body jerked uncontrollably for a moment then stiffened on the floor. Bruce felt the need to move, to do something to stop the Joker and the violence he brought with him, but even thinking of moving a muscle was painful and his body was refusing to obey to his commands.

"It's t-time sensit-tive." Jeremy finally let out. "The safe will only open a few minutes before the presentation. Please don't kill me Mr. Joker. I'll would open it if I could."

"And where's the safe, Mr. Wilson?"

"It's in the c-control room, in the back."

"Uhm...Magilla Gorilla," Joker called when a chubby guy in a gorilla mask stopped beside him. "Go with Mr. Wilson here to the control room and take care of the safe for me. I'm busy." Joker put the gun on his own temple, rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out. "Some people are just born useless. Put them him of his misery, PLEASE!" The hyena man pulled Wilson from the floor and pushed him after the Gorilla man towards the back room. More masked men followed them. Joker put his gun back on his jacket, went back to the computer station and continued working as if nothing had happened.

"You are a coward, Joker." Someone said in the crowd. Bruce still on the floor, tried to find out who had spoken with such bravado, but moving was task that required a lot of effort. One thing he had learned about the Joker is that when the clown had hostages, getting him angry was not a good idea. Someone had just broken that basic rule. Joker got up from his station and started to walk amongst the crowd. Everybody got out of his way until he met Maximillian Davenport.

"Oh hi, Max. Have not seen you in what, almost a year? Did your wife recover from what ever I did to her last time?"

"You're just a monster, Joker. Sick, remorseless, and with the humor of a slug." Davenport growled and stepped between his wife and Joker.

"Max," Joker cocked his head to the side, "not today…. I'm really not in the mood. "

"You're just a murderous son of a bitch, but the police will put you where you belong back in Arkham."

"Max, for your own good, shut the fuck up. Any other time, I would have laughed at your lame try at been a hero; but today…don't give me an excuse to put some of my slugs in you, OK?" Joker patted Davenport on the shoulder and turned around staring sadly at the audience. "Why is it that you people have to spoil an otherwise good unlawful act like this by souring up my day? And then you ask me, why is it that we kill people like you?" Joker clenched both fists in front of him. "Oh, the agony of my misunderstood genius…!"

"Boss, we got the chip. It was a piece of cake." The chubby man in the gorilla mask announced. Joker let out a long sigh of relief.

"All right King Kong, grab the rest of the crew and split." Joker walked back to the computer station and continued typing, this time very fast. "We have something to do, but I'll be right behind you."

"You have your chip, Joker, why don't you just leave…" said Davenport .

"Mountain man…" called Joker in a falsetto voice without getting his eyes from the screen monitor. A large man, wearing the mask resembling a king cheetah stopped by his side. Joker grabbed the UZI from the Cheetah man and opened fire towards Davenport. Six people around the banker fell to the floor, Davenport's wife among them. "Ooopsy, I really need to look where I'm shooting Max. See what you made me do? It's entirely your fault, Max. You and your big mouth." Joker giggled and shrugged returning the gun to the Cheetah man. "Oh well, just as you like it Jacky old boy, a rain of bullets on the weak and humorless. Not pretty, but very deadly. (He,he) _Ce est la vie_…if only the Bat will show up to see this one..."

Joker started to laugh. Still at the computer, Joker typed some more and then all the sixteen screens of the exhibit, started to flicker in synch with all the colors of the rainbow and in the screen scrolled the words:

**THE JOKER WAS HERE, HAVING FUN, LOL, HACKING AWAY… **

**AND WHERE THE HELL IS THE GUANO-MAN :D EVERSMILING J.**

Then the speakers started to produce a sinister crazy laughter that seemed to fill the entire room

and went on forever. While smiling with complacence, Joker started to walk out of the exhibit hall when he stopped by Charleen who stood menacingly over Bruce.

"No more time to play with the millionaire, dear. I don't think the rodent will show up and we need to go before the brave GCPD spoils our fun."

"Mr. Wayne has a problem with staying down, boss." Joker looked down at Bruce on the floor.

"Wanting to be a hero, Mr. Wayne? I think you'll do much better as a victim..." Joker pulled his .38J and opened fire. Bruce flinched as the bullet hit the floor just inches beside him and too close for comfort. Joker shook his head. "Not with bullets, you silly boy...You always want to fix everything with a bullet. This requires finesse, and a little bit of humor. Do you know what humor is, Jack? Let me show you." Joker fumbled in his pockets and produced two bottles, one black and one white that he shook violently. He pushed the lids open with his thumbs and squirted the contents on Wayne. Upon contact, the liquid expanded like foam enveloping the man quickly and starting to harden within seconds. "Sticky situation, eh Brucie? I suggest you take a good deep breath, your last breath..." Joker started to laugh and along with Charley abandoned the premises of the ballroom. By now, a solid cocoon of plaster had covered Wayne completely.

"Can someone call 911, please?" cried Davenport, kneeling over his wife who moaned painfully on the floor. "Help…please, someone…help me."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the van, Joker held the little box that contained the microchip in his grasp and his large smile, larger than usual, showed great complacence. He was giggling softly to himself while he made the box dance in his hand.

"Boss, everything OK?" Charley asked taking her wig off and combing the dark black hair underneath. Joker without moving just turned to look at her.

"What do you mean? Everything's peachy on my side of the bridge." Joker put the box away and giggled happily.

"Well, it looked like you were talking to someone else over there."

"I was talking to you, love."

"My name is not Jack."

Joker snorted and looked away. "You must've not being listening right because I was talking to you, weren't we? Anything else is a product of an overactive imagination."

Charley was startled when someone threw her black denim jacket at her. She looked around and saw Blip signaling her to break the conversation, and she frowned turning back to the Joker who was now looking absentmindedly through the darkened window of the van. Not a good time to continue the conversation, but later… later she will get to the bottom of this.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bruce could hear the voices outside of this cocoon the Joker had enveloped him with as well as the efforts being done to open it. The police had arrived, very quickly, since he had estimated no more than twenty minutes have elapsed since the clown had been there, so hopefully the injured had been taken care of and sent to the hospital. He prayed that all the victims would have survived, but with the clown, he had learned to expect the worst. He just needed to make sure his name did not add to the Joker's list of victims. He had to remain calmed, preserving as much oxygen as he could until he could be released, anybody else would have panicked and suffocated by now, trying frantically to get out. Bruce had studied meditation in Tibet, and had learned the techniques of the Tibetan gurus of controlling their bodily functions, being able to reduce the body needs to a minimum. He learned those techniques, in the hope that they would serve the Batman one day in his fight against crime, but instead, they were helping him survive this ordeal.

Someone was hammering above him, the vibration gave way to a little bit of dust on the little bubble of air he was encased in. Then small amount of light came through.

"Mr. Wayne, sir, all you all right?" Bruce heard a voice say that reminded him of officer Montoya.

"Thank heavens. Yes, just get me out of here."

"He's still alive!" said the same voice, "Working on it, Mr. Wayne."

The hammering and the pounding continued while the opening got larger and after almost an hour and a half he was able to crawl out of his plaster prison. James Gordon, police commissioner was now in the room, along Officer Montoya and a dozen officers. A paramedic approached him but Bruce dismissed him as he dusted his tuxedo.

"I can't believe you were able to stay alive for that long, Mr. Wayne." Gordon said taking a puff from his pipe. "You could have asphyxiated."

"I've swam a lot in college, commissioner. I've learned to control my breathing very well." Gordon just looked at him and smoked his pipe again. "Were you able to stop that maniac?"

"Unfortunately not. He was long gone by the time we arrived."

"How many victims?"

"Five dead, two in critical condition. Is there anything I need to know about that microchip the Joker was so interested in?"

"You'll have to ask Mr. Wilson and the research team that question."

"Mr. Wilson is dead, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce's eyes open wide with surprise. "What…How..?"

"Shot on the back of the head and stuffed inside the safe."

"God…" Bruce said, the despair in his voice, leading to anger. The Joker was going too far, and someone had to put an end to this clown. "No, there is nothing especial about that microchip, it just a prototype to use in computers, that's all." Gordon looked at him from above his glasses.

"Just a prototype."

"Yes. Sorry I can't be of more help. I can have one of the developers get back to you." He looked around and saw Max Davenport being guided by a female police officer and a medic. In his hands he was holding the satin jacket her wife had been wearing that night now splattered with blood. Why wasn't he in a hospital? "You'll have to excuse me, Commissioner." Bruce started to, walk towards Davenport.

"I'll need your statement tonight, Mr. Wayne."

"And you'll have it, sir." Bruce stood by Davenport and put a hand on his shoulder. The banker looked at him with swollen red eyes, obvious signs that the man had been crying. Bruce grip on the man's shoulders tightened. "Max?"

"She's dead, Bruce. He shot her, just like that."

"I'm sorry Max. Is there anything I can do?"

"It's my fault." Davenport said ignoring Bruce's voice. "I've never known when to shut up, I was angry. It…It's like I killed her."  
"No you didn't. The Joker pulled the trigger, not you."

"I lost her forever, Bruce. How am I going to live without her now?" Davenport embraced Bruce firmly and started to cry. The young millionaire felt his heart sink deep in his chest, holding a grown man, decades older than him, who was crying like a small baby. And it was the Joker's fault. The anger inside him was starting to boil, and deep within him the Batman was begging for a release. He needed to take care of the Joker immediately and tonight the hunt will turn personal.

Well there you have it guys. Just let me know what you think. Thanks a million again for your wonderful feedback. Isabel


	14. The Greatest Performance

_Author's Note: This Chapter is dedicated to to Baka Gaijin 30 without whose help I would have ended up institutionalized...who would have kown that posting chapters could be so difficult. Thanks a lot pal, I owe your one :)_

_Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS._

_Disclaimer2: Some scenes contain MATURE language and situations. Reader discretion is adviced. Some scenes might not be suitable for very young children._

Another Chapter...for your enjoyment. _Please keep your feedback coming, it is really appreciated!!!_

_**CHAPTER 14: THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE** _

"YOU ARE GOING TO DO WHAT???" Michael yelled shaking his head and waving his hand in disbelief.

"No sense of adventure, Blip?" said Joker giggling softly as he applied flesh color enamel over his green nails. His hands, now a soft cream color, was starting to show a hint of human warmth. His hair was no longer green and his face though still paler than normal, did not show that pronounced smile anymore.

"You're crazy! After all I went through to keep you safe after your escape? And we just did Wayne Tech…you know how many people are looking for you?" Blip's glasses glinted against the light of the small chandelier in the Joker's office. His rounded face turning an intense hue of red.

"You need the codes, don't you my boy? Then let me do this my way, and you'll have what you need tonight and tomorrow we can all play." Joker smiled wildly as he looked at Michael's face about to explode like a hand held grenade. Michael looked hilarious when he was angry, like a huge spectacled tomato. Joker could not help to laugh.

"Yeah, but there has to be another way of getting them. We should be keeping a low profile, especially after the job at Wayne Tech. Have you forgotten about the bat? He has to be after your trail now."

"No, I have not forgotten my loyal friend I can assure you he's not expecting my next move. Besides, I'll be back before lunch. I promise. Just be good and keep an eye on my things while I'm gone, would you?"

"Oh no. You are not doing this; you are not doing this to me. Boss reconsider, pleeeease!." Joker just sat there looking at him with a wide toothy smile, his eyes narrowed almost like half asleep. Blip clenched his fists and turned around leaving the office cursing and ranting. Joker could still hear him talking from the common room. Michael walked over to Charley, who sat on the green sofa, cleaning her gun. 'Mountain Man' sat besides her, doing the same to his 357 magnum. Both lifted their heads and saw the puffing figure of Garibaldi in front of them, eyes gone behind the glare of the glasses, and small rivulets of sweat on his brow. "You have to stop him."

"What'cha talking about Four Eyes?" asked Jake.

"The boss is out of his mind."

"What else is new." responded Charley laughing softly. Jake smiled at her.

"I really mean it. He wants to get back into Arkham and meet the Riddler there personally."

"Whoa! Spell that again, kid?" asked Charley, her eyes glowed with interest. "Arkham, the nuthouse?"

"The boss is dressing up to go to Arkham Asylum and meet with Riddler as his new attorney. He doesn't understand how risky is trying to do this right now. They're going to get him caged there again and our plans will go down the drain."

"Are you sure about this, Blip?"

"Go and ask him if you don't believe me, bitch?" Michael roared.

"You know wha' I've told ya, girl. The boss's a nutcase, a fruitcake. T'is shouldn't surprise us, ya' know, an' I t'ing the nerdball here needs to treat us with some respect." Jake took his clean gun and aimed at Blip when Charley grabbed his gun and pushed softly down.

"You seem to forget who signs your paycheck, Jake. I'll see what's going on. In the meantime…put that thing away." Charley said pointing to Jake's gun. She turned angrily to Michael. "And Blip, I don't care if you're really close to the clown, my gun and your head need to have a chat on mutual respect …but later. So don't let me forget." Michael swallowed hard.

Charley got up, replaced her gun in her holster, pushed Michael forcefully out of her way and walked to the Joker's office. She knocked twice and without waiting for a response, entered seeing the boss wearing a white long sleeve shirt with a tie over his shoulders, a pair of blue Sponge Bob suspenders and navy blue dressy trousers. On his head he sported light brown hair, slightly peppered at the sideburns and was almost through applying flesh colored makeup over his face. Joker looked at her through the mirror.

"Dear, when someone knocks a door they should wait for an answer from the other side. It's just polite," said the clown prince nonchalantly while continued to put the makeup. "Oh well, how can we help you?"

"Blip said you…"

"I know what Blip said. I could hear him ranting from here. And the answer is the same. I'll still go." Joker responded continuing to apply the makeup.

"Do you understand what you are doing?"

He sighed and produced a soft smile. "I am going to visit a friend, who can help us with our little plans."

"You sir, are going into a lunatic asylum that has a cell with your name on it along with a file the size of a house on you and your tricks. Do you know what they're gonna to do to you when they find out you are in there?"

"I know that asylum like I know the palm of my hand. Being there, remember? And believe me…they aren't expecting me there."

"Why do you have to go at all? Can't you send someone else impersonating Riddler's attorney? Even better, why not talk to the Riddler over the phone?"

Joker bent over in front of the mirror, resting one of his hands on the small table under it. Charley could see him shaking his head slightly while his reflection looked at her with the corner of his eye.

"Been there, done that, got the T-shirt." Joker chuckled softly. "But unfortunately, Edward Nigma said that the only way he'll talk to me is if I went there and met him personally."

"A challenge, eh? So now your ego is hurt and you're trying to prove yourself." Joker pounded a fist against the table and turned around furiously, his eyes narrowed to tiny slits of darkness. Charley instinctively drew her gun and felt as the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

"First of all, bitch; the Joker has nothing to prove to anyone. '_Numero dos'_…" The boss pointed a thumb at her. "Are you going to shoot me or what?"

The grip on her gun tightened. "Depends on you."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. No fair, Princess. I'm unarmed." Joker said cocking his head tenderlyto the right.

"Sure, like when Jake tried to wake you?"

He motioned towards his .38J in its holster over the table and extended both arms to his sides. "Satisfied? Unless I can pop a gun from my ass, I am completely unarmed." Charley eyed him suspiciously. "But if you want to search there, be my guest." Charley couldn't hold a soft smile. Joker smiled back. Then she sheathed her gun slowly without loosing sight of the Prince of Crime. Joker turned around and grabbing some cosmetic powder started giving the final touches on his makeup.

"If you want, Boss, I can kill Riddler for you, boss. I understand you have a reputation to keep, but going back to that asylum…it's just insane." Joker eyed her through the mirror. "No pun intended."

Joker lifted three fingers in front of him in the mirror while half a smile appeared on his face. "Number three Princess. Nigma is the only one with a few pieces of information that I need so he cannot die just yet. But hold that thought a little longer because I might need your services later on." Joker started to unroll his sleeves.

"I don't understand. What does Riddler have that is so important for you to risk meeting him in Arkham of all places?

"I told you…information, pure and simple. Edward Nigma has the second best information network from inside the asylum…after mine, of course. Nothing escapes that green mean riddle machine. Brufford, his attorney, was one the best connected lawyer on both sides of the law but was not very forthcoming with the information I needed. Nigma on the other hand….might be interested in a little alliance. A pact." Joker chuckled and put on a navy blue jacket then turned around to face Charley. "Now tell me how I look? Don't be shy, you can flatter me."

Charley walked closer to him. She had not seen him in disguise since the time she met him in Brenton. That disguise was very good, and if it wouldn't have been for the trail of leads his crazy behavior was leaving behind him then, it would have been close to impossible for her to tell he was the Joker. This, well this was even better. He had changed his entire profile and structure of his face and she didn't know how but that smile was almost completely gone and the wild green eyes were now soft and light hazel. She used her hand to fix some stray hairs from his head and they felt natural, even some gray hairs were sparsely disseminated in the brown mane making the look very convincing. She grabbed his hands with hers and she noticed how nice and natural they looked. His nails, now a soft rosy color and his skin with a soft creamy flesh color felt very soft and smooth. She looked at his face again. A small hint of a smile was visible. She smiled back; this was a brilliant disguise.

"Are you sure, this is a safe thing to do…and the only way?"

"Oh…and for the coup-de-grace…" Joker lifted a warning finger and put a pair of glasses on. His eyes distorted slightly under the play of shadow and glare. "If I didn't know I am me, I would believe I'm someone else and I would not have this conversation because I would not be here, but tanning in the white beaches of Tahiti. But I'm here since I'm saying where I am, which means I'm not in Tahiti, so by deductive reasoning I should be me…Capice?" Joker cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "Now explain that to me… because I'm lost."

"What if your plan backfires and you're locked up again?"

"Hope you do a better job than Phil did." Joker's little smile turned sinister. "But tell me, how I look?"

"I have to say, incredible. It's amazing what you can do with makeup…just hope that you can behave as a lawyer, because last time it didn't take me long to figure out it was you."

"I'm a master of disguise, and don't worry about my behavior…I've read some law books while I was vacationing at Arkham so I know the craft. Just one thing," said Joker handing her the blue tie and looking at her tenderly. "I can do a bowtie but these give me the hardest times. Can you help me?"

"You're incorrigible…" Charley smiled and threw the tie around Joker's neck starting to work on the knot. "You know, your plan to confuse the police is working perfectly, especially after that ploy of having another murderer taking blame for Trenton's death. They probably don't know what to think of those crimes anymore."

"What plan? What are you talking about? Those murders were all mine." Joker sounded very angry and disappointed. "I even signed them both."

"Didn't you read the newspaper?" Joker just stared at her. Charley walked over to the Joker's desk where he always kept the latest copy of the Gotham Gazette and showed him the front page. "Why do you buy the Gazette if you're not going to read it?"

Joker took the Gazette from her hands and looked at the front headlines with obvious disgust on his face:

**DOUBLE TROUBLE: TWO MURDERERS LOOSE IN ****GOTHAM****. CAN THE POLICE STOP THE VIOLENCE? ARE THE JOKER'S DAYS OVER?**

"Preposterous!" Joker grimaced. "What's the meaning of this?"

"It gets better, keep reading." Charley said flipping the pages of the Gazette. The Boss continued reading and the more he read the angrier he looked, Charley could hear him huffing under every line he read.

"I'M NEXT??" Joker ripped the newspaper and threw the pieces violently on the floor. "Is this a joke? Who in this town is insane enough to threaten me, the Clown Prince of Crime? And who the hell dares to take credit for our murders?" He looked at Charley.

"So it wasn't you who sent the letter to the newspaper to throw 'em off your back?"

"Those are MY murders…I worked very hard for those murders, they're mine… MINE! "… Joker started to pace the room and whisper to himself. "Wait a minute; let's see the logic of this… there has to be a logical explanation…LOGIC?? SOMEONE IS TRYING TO STEAL MY WORKS OF ART AND YOU WANT ME TO USE LOGIC, JACK? Calm down… Calm down. Think… YOU'RE SO DEAD, BUDDY!"

"You OK, Boss?" Charley said timidly. The Boss was ranting violently, and worst of all, he didn't seem to notice that she was in the room anymore. Joker continued to pace the office.

"Think, Joker. Concentrate. You fooled the Bat twice… laughed in his face. The Bat is confused by your MO… remember you're letting me do this…. BUT THEY THREATENED ME!!"

"Boss?"

"Hold on…we're into something important here…So the Bat doesn't know how to get to us, because you're not using your regular MO…HE'S CONFUSED, SO? He needs to use something that will bring you and me out into the open…something to make us try something bolder…more dangerous."

"The Batman is behind this?" Charley said backing a few steps. Joker looked at her and started to giggle. "Boss, you're giving me the creeps."

"Why? Just because I talk to myself? It helps me focus…FOCUS ON ME, LADY!" Joker started to laugh, but it soon turned into a cough. "Sorry…but now I understand."

"Understand what?"

"That there is really no other murderer in town…THE HEADLINE! DID YOU READ THE FUCKING HEADLINE?" Joker rested his head in his hand. "No, no, no. It's all a ploy."

"A ploy?"

"The Bat is trying to use my ego against me. He knows me too well. He thinks we won't tolerate someone else taking credit for my murders and I will just jump into his hoop trying to prove I'm the only murderer. I'm not gonna let go my ego…at least not that easy."

"You sure about this? I mean, it sounds kind of crazy and you make it sound even crazier."

"It's supposed to sound crazy. How else do you expect to catch a homicidal maniac who loves the spotlight?" Joker smiled wide. _HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT_. "Take spotlight away from the maniac."

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"Absolutely nothing, stick to my original plan…though I have to admit…it's gonna be hard, real hard."

"Why?"

Joker pointed a thumb at himself and busted into laughter. "Because THIS homicidal maniac REALLY loves the spotlight." Charley just forced a smile. For her, this was all still too creepy. "At least nobody can deny that I was at Wayne Tech last night."

"That one definitely belongs to you."

"Just wondered why the Batman didn't show up?" Joker fixed his jacket and reposition the glasses on his face. "That would have been the pinnacle of my criminal career…killing the bat in front of his audience."

"You really wanted the Bat to find you last night at Wayne Tech?" Charley asked going back to finish the knot on the Joker's tie.

"I trained hard...I was ready for him, but instead had to use one of my tricks on that playboy millionaire. What a waste of a good punch line. I need to get rid of the pest, so you can have a clean city, Princess."

"You're taking unnecessary risks, Joker. Blip is very concern and I have to admit…me too."

"He's such a worry worm. He's gonna get over it. You don't worry either. I can take good care of myself. In the meantime play well with the other kids, no long distance calls while I'm gone, and definitely no hanky-panky. And be careful…there's another murderer in town." Joker giggled.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Joker shrugged and stepped back. "Who knows? I didn't start the gossip. Just let me introduce you to…Larry Wilde, attorney at law."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Arkham Asylum. Security post 4**

Weatherby was waiting by the door. Wilde knew the blond officer; young, tough, muscular product from the land of Jack the Ripper. "Excuse me, have we met before?" Wilde asked fixing his glasses. "No." answered the officer while he opened the door for the attorney. _Warm as a glacier and friendly as a cactus, that's good ol' Weatherby_. Wilde nodded entering the room and looked at the location of the security cameras. All of the tables were empty but he chose the farthest one from the door. He opened his briefcase and removed a notebook, a pen, and a yellow envelope labeled 'CONFIDENTIAL'. The noise of the door picked his attention and when he looked he saw Riddler, with shackled hands and feet and wearing the inmates orange color overalls entering the room. Wilde went back to his papers. The tall guard helped Riddler sit and fixed the shackles to a hook underneath the chair, then silently left the room. Riddler stared at Wilde as the lawyer sat in font of him.

"What are you staring at, Edward?" said Wilde putting down pen and notebook.

"Is that you Bozo? Excellent costume, I'm impressed. Now tell me a joke."

"Shush, the walls have ears."

"Here is a riddle for you, Mr. Wilde. What goes up and down put never moves."

"Eddie, not now."

"Come, on. Relax, have some fun…It's good for you. Besides that's an easy one." Edward smiled.

Wilde sighed. "Stairs."

_''Play my music if your dare; turn my crank although I'm square. Stand back, or get a scare; when you see my surprising glare._'"

"I have no time for these stupid games, Eddie. In the phone you said you'll consider my offer if I came personally. Well?"

"What's wrong with you? It's a Jack-in-a-box. I told that one just for you, and you didn't even sneer. Why don't you laugh at my riddles?"

"It's a riddle, Eddie, not a joke, and they're not funny. You think we can get to business now?"

"All business and no fun, and by the way, what happened to you, Bozo? You're not funny anymore." Nigma said shifting in his chair looking away from the cameras as the chains rattled. "Maybe the world out there is turning out to be too much for you to handle, Mr. J, and a short season back in your cage will do you a world of good. What 'cha think, pal? Should I tell, Sir Weatherby, about you?" Nigma smiled perversely. "That will be the end of your visit and begin your stay..."

"Nigma, don't tempt fate, my friend." Wilde's eyes glowed with anger. Riddler backed into the chair with a complacent smile. Wilde growled. "You don't know who you're fucking with…"

"So it's true what they say. You've soured up and don't joke around no more. So sad. I think it's only up to me to provide the entertainment in this city."

"Eddie, you are a very important piece in this little puzzle I'm putting together. A very important puzzle."

Nigma's eyes sparkled, "I know I am or you wouldn't be here…but how much is this important stuff worth to you, Wilde?"

"It's all about money, isn't it?"

"Riddles are fun, Wilde, but nothing in life's free. Having you here, licking my boots for some names and addresses is just the cherry on top of my cream pie." Edward Nigma set his hand over his thighs and smiled complacently.

Wilde frowned. "How much do you want? Once I'm done, this city will be mine, anyways."

"Ours."

There was a short silence. "Ours…a real partnership, you and me, huh?" Wilde said while Nigma nodded. "Can be arranged…under certain specific clauses. You know how I feel about you."

"Me…out of here?"

Wilde smiled with glee. "By tomorrow."

Nigma eyed Joker with suspicion. "What warranties do I have that you'll keep your side of the bargain, Bozo? It's not like you are the most reliable person in the world, clown…"

"None, but at this moment if I'm willing to come here and work along with you; that should be an indication as to the lengths I will go to see my plans completed. Who is crazy enough to come back here after what I've been through...?"

"Now that you mention it…that's scary."

"Not as scary as my life lately, but anyways...you want to profit from this, Eddie? Go ahead, be my guest. I don't want the money; I just want to be remembered as the one who destroyed the Bat. Only when the Batman's dead there's gonna be absolute peace in my world, and I will be able to plan my next tour and the Clown is gonna reign supreme."

"You don't want the money? Nigma's voice denoted sincere incredulity.

"No, you can have it all."

"That's odd. Why wouldn't you want the money?"

"Because I'm interested on what the money represents and not on this actual value on the market."

"And how much money are you expecting to make out of this, Wilde?

The lawyer smiled once more. "Loads and loads of the green stuff. Six figures."

"All mine..?" Edward whispered.

"If you want it…but of course you got to help me."

"You still don't want the money..?" Nigma said as if trying to prove a point. "I don't trust you, Bozo."

"I'm a performer, Eddie. What I care is for is providing my audience with my best performance. I'm not concerned on what the box office wants to charge, as long as my audience enjoys the show. And this is going to be the greatest puzzle since the Riddle of the Sphinx. Not even that caped detective will be able to solve it. What better show than baffling the bat."

"I want the money and you want the fame…and you are really obsessed with the Big Bat." Nigma eyed Wilde with suspicion "…a riddle. Wilde…this is not gonna work. You don't do riddles."

"That's were your genius comes in."

For a short moment Edward Nigma looked down at his shacked hands and tugged at the restraints. His eyes closed as in meditation and a wide smile appeared on his face. "Think I can live with that. Fire away, clown."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The package had arrived at the station via special courier, and when Bullock saw that the sender name was just a large capital J on the top of the package, he knew he had to call the Caped Crusader. Not that this was something the department couldn't deal with, but Gordon had been very thorough about the way situations like this were to be handled. He had the courier under custody and had the package examined by the bomb squad, twice. When everything was safe, then the Batman was to be contacted. The package did not contain any explosives and they've already started interrogating the delivery boy. Now the only thing was to wait for the recipient of the package to finally solve the mystery of its contents. Batman entered the office.

"Is this it?" The Caped Detective asked coming closer to the small box on the desk.

"It's clean. Mr. J. appears to be thinking of you, Bats." Bullock said mockingly. Batman eyed the Lieutenant with obvious unease. Batman knew the lieutenant was an excellent cop, but could not help dislike his sense of humor. He lifted the package between his hands feeling its weight. It must not be more than two or three pounds, and nicely wrapped in brown paper. He analyzed the label. It had been typed and printed using a computer; the sender's name a single initial and in the recipient's name his own: The Caped Crusader. Above the label the words HANDLE WITH CARE were stamped in red ink. There was nothing out of the ordinary visible in the outside of the package. Batman pressed firmly the entire surface…squared shaped…a box. On the top of the package he felt something long and thin, like sting and gently shook the package paying close attention to any sound from it. He then set the package on the desk, produced a pocket knife from his utility belt, and cut the wrapping lengthwise to reveal the golden cardboard box underneath tied up with a thin purple ribbon On top of the box, were the words 'MERRY CHRISTMAS'were embossed on the surface of the cardboard and in a small corner a smiley face had been drawn. Batman had a bad feeling about this. His muscles tensed under his armored costume.

Batman cut the ribbon and lifted the lid when he heard a soft cracking noise from inside. He stopped moving, as if expecting something more from the package…electroshock…smoke…maybe the bomb squad missed something... He lifted the lid very slightly until he had opened the box. Inside the box laid a neatly bundled red shirt with a black R embroidered over the left shoulder, a pair or green shorts and a yellow cape. They were all covered with spots of a dark red dye. He looked inside the lid and saw a small broken glass container that still dripped the same red dye. Batman lifted the garments from the box and upon examination he confirmed that they were large enough to fit a teenager and the red blotches looked like blood stains. The clothing wrinkled in his tight fist. He looked inside the box once again, and was disappointed to find out it was empty except for a small black mask in the bottom.

"Was there a note with the package?" The Bat growled

"No, when it arrived…"

"Where's the courier." Batman interrupted while trying to remain calm.

"We are interrogating him now."

Batman tossed the garments into the box and stormed out of the office taking the package with him. He did not need to ask Bullock were the he was interrogating the courier since he knew that station like the back of his hand. Bullock and a few officers, left the office behind him and tried to keep up, but it was as if they were trying to keep up with a black tornado. The cops almost didn't make it to the elevator with him. Batman did not care; he couldn't get his mind of the package and the memories that it brought back. He didn't need anybody to tell him who sent the package. There was only one person in this town that would revel on reminding him his impotency in saving Jason Todd's life. The very same clown that took the young ward's life. Why was the Joker so obsessed in hurting him? He never understood it, but this psychotic clown had a perverse obsession destroying everything around the Bat, spreading his filth, like a disease, polluting everything that was good and pure. The Joker had also a perverse pleasure of reminding him of the chaos he had brought the Bat over the years. Nothing mattered now… he had to focus…he had a mission to get some answers by any means necessary.

The elevator finally stopped, after what it looked like hours when it hadn't been more than a minute, and they all exited walking briskly to the interrogation ward. Batman was advancing in long fast strides, while Bullock and a group of cops were trying to catch up with him. Without any greetings, Batman entered the interrogation department and advanced to the last room where two officers were questioning a young dark haired man in his late twenties, dressed up in jeans, and a striped shirt with no sleeves. The man looked very nervous and was smoking a cigarette in large puffs, obviously for some time, for the ashtray by him was filled with cigarette butts, and upon seeing the dark figure entering the office the cigarette in his han started to shake perceptively. When the man saw the cowled man was heading towards him, the color on his face disappeared and he started shaking his right leg anxiously. He tapped the cigarette in the astray beside him and straightened in his chair when the Batman threw the box on the table and grabbed him by his shirt lifting him a few inches from the floor.

"Where is he?" Batman roared angrily.

"Hey man, I don't know what'cha talking about. Put me down."

"I'm not asking again, where's the Joker?" Batman said as he was approached by several officers that tried to undo his grip on the courier. It would have been easier to move a mountain than to separate the two men from each other.

"Batman, let 'im go. He really doesn't know a thing." finally one of the officers said. "A third party set the delivery and paid him very well for the shipment if he didn't ask questions. He's just a delivery boy."

"No, not again." Batman roared as he put the man down in the floor but without letting go. The man's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their orbits, seeing the towering figure of the Batman in front of him. " I don't believe it…He has to go through a polygraph test to confirm his story. Joker is playing a deadly game, and I want to know why…WHY!" The courier had started to pant heavily, and the color of his skin had started to show a yellow hue. His eyes rolled back and he went limp on Batman's grip. The Dark Detective, obviously startled by the sudden symptoms, lowered the man to the floor where he stayed unmoving.

"An ambulance quickly!" one of the officers yelled, causing a fast exchange of cops in and out of the room. Batman pressed his fingers against the courier's neck.

"Too late, he's dead." Batman said softly.

"What did you do to him…scared him to death? Bullock asked kneeling beside the Dark Detective.

"This has nothing to do with me, Lieutenant. This is all Joker's doing, and he's making me loose my patientce..." Batman rose and kicked the table with so much force that it hit the wall in the other end of the room. The ashtray and the box fell to the floor loudly and he slammed his fist on the wall. "Round two for you, Joker."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"In writing? You never stop amazing me, you know? But if you want it in black and white…" said Riddler with a smile as Weatherby, after examining every inch of the roller pen, handed it to him.

"My memory is not what it used to be, Mr. Nigma." Wilde said glancing over the documents he had handed Riddler on the table.

Nigma snorted and sifted through the bundle of papers on the table the best he could and he found the pages to fill. He started to write but no ink came out. Nigma shook the pen several timesand retried without success and, finally moistened the tip with his tongue trying to write one more time to no avail. He looked at Wilde who was fumbling in the pockets of his suit. "Is this one of your jokes? Because this one is not funny."

"Sorry for that. Here." said the lawyer as he offered Weatherby a new pen. After the same extensive examination he passed it to the Riddler. Nigma scribbled a few names, addresses and then pushed the papers and the pen back. Joker picked up both pens and replaced them in his suit and, after picking up the papers that he neatly bundled together, he placed them in his suitcase. "I think that concludes our meeting, Mr. Nigma. Thanks for your cooperation."

"You have not heard my best riddle yet, Wilde, but sure, whatever. I can get it to you later…Tell Brufford that I hope he recovers soon. I like 'im better than I like you." Nigma started to play absentmindedly with the desk's edge. "By the way, that clown chick…what's her name…the Mime, no, Harley. Did you know she's been having lengthy sessions with a certain caped detective…?"

"Say what??" Wilde's hazel eyes opened wide with surprise. Nigma's smile widened.

"Don't know what she's up to, but I think she's gonna need a lawyer soon. Maybe I could put a good word about you with her…or maybe you just don't care anymore. I wonder if being left abandoned on a cell is the reason why she talks to the rats now."

Wilde stared at Nigma momentarily, his eyes glowing with resentment. Weatherby was still standing by the table, between them, and he must have noticed the drop in temperature between the two, for the impassive officer could not hold a shudder. With a snort, Wilde closed his suitcase forcibly and headed for the door. He could hear the Riddler laughing very loud behind him. Nigma really knew how to spoil an otherwise good mood._ HELLOOO, CAN YOU GO BACK THERE AND JUST ICE THE RIDDLER NOW? HE'S LAUGHING AT US_. Weatherby was close behind him and almost did not make it in time to open the door. There, against the wall was the guard that had brought the Riddler to the room. He exchanged glances quickly with him and then started to walk to the security post. In the post, Reynolds scanned him again and sifted through the contents the envelope. Joker wanted to remain calm, but he had the need to leave that hospital as soon as he could. HARLEY AND THE FLYING RAT! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT, THE LITTLE BITCH…He was not feeling well. His heart was racing, and he could feel his blood pressure starting to get high enough to start a pounding on his temples by the time he has passed the third security post. WHAT THE FUCK DOES SHE WANT TO DO…HAVE US ARRESTED? WHAT HAS SHE TOLD THE BAT? He did not say a word during the whole process, a lump had settled in his throat making him very difficult to utter a single word and his brain was far away, in another plane replaying in his mind what he thought would those encounters between the Batman and his Harley would have sounded like. NIGMA, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH, IF THIS IS ONE OF YOUR LIES…I'M GONNA DO ONE OF MY PERFORMANCES ON YOU! Finally he reached the last post as his stomach started to turn and make him queasy. He was slowly loosing control. SEE, JACK. HOLDING BACK IS NOT GOING TO DO YOU ANY GOOD. LET ME OUT, I'LL DEAL WITH THEM. The thoughts in his mind were coming and going at the speed of sound, and Joker felt like he needed to run over someone as he got into his car. THIS IS NOT FUNNY. BUT IF YOU WANT, I CAN MAKE IT FUNNY, I LIKE FUNNY. LET US FIND SOMEONE TO KILL. JUST RIDE OVER A SCHOOL BOY, OR THE LADY IN THE WHEELCHAIR. I KNOW, LET'S RUN OVER SOME NUNS. LET IT OUT, JACK...LET ME OUT! The engine roared to life and he sped away, grasping the steering will with enough pressure to make it creak under his grip. Once in the highway, he was finally able to spit one word that sounded more like a growl. "HAAARLLEEYYY!!!"


	15. Old Habits Die Hard

Author's note: Thanks to all of you that have left that wonderful feedback. I am thrilled you guys are enjoying this story, that wa the whole purpose of writing it. Remember. I am open to all types of constructive criticism, so feel free to voice your opinion in any aspect. That said...Enjoy!

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Reader's discretion is adviced.

_CHAPTER 15: OLD HABITS DIE HARD_

Batman entered Gordon's office with a somber look on his face, and the Commissioner knew exactly why, but did not say a word. That package that Batman had recieved a few days ago had opened wounds that should have healed a long time ago. This new wounds were probably deeper and more painful than any other the Caped Crusader could have sustained in battle, because this wounds were hurting deep inside the Detective's soul. If only there was something he could say to ease that new pain, but he knew Batman well, and he knew that this was something he had to deal with on its own. In the office was another man, typing on a small laptop computer on Gordon's desk.

"Batman, this is Meredith Lancaster, our specialist in digital crimes from the Department of Computer Intelligence. He's been analyzing some evidence the Joker left behind at Wayne Tech."

"Hi there, Mr. Batman. I can tell you it's a pleasure meeting you…always admired your work. You always seem to have the latest technology at your fingertips. Maybe we can exchange some secrets, later…" Meredith said extending a hand. Batman stared at the computer specialist for a moment before finally extending his, in silence.

"I don't think so…" Batman responded dryly. Meredith frowned slightly and went back to the laptop.

"Mr. Meredith used to be a hacker in his youth, until he decided to join his abilities with the police in the department of cybercrime."

"Ha, Gordon, I would have called that more of a forced retirement. " Lancaster smiled and looked to the caped figure, but the Dark Detective was not amused so Meredith stopped smiling. Lancaster cleared his throat nervously. "The police was able to arrest me after one of my little cyber-adventures and they offered me an opportunity. Either help them or go to jail for a long, long time. That was a no-brainer." The Batman was very stiff. "They used to call me Dragonspawn…"

"What did Joker left behind, Mr. Lancaster?" The Caped Detective finally said in a very low voice.

"When he hacked into the computers at Wayne Tech, he left the CD with a copy of the virus still on the main CPU." Meredith turned back to the laptop and clicked on some icons of the screen. Batman looked at Gordon, but the commissioner just shrugged. "At first we thought he had made a mistake by leaving the CD behind, but once we got our hands on it, we realized he had planned on leaving the CD from the beginning."

"How do you know?"

"When we examined the contents of the disk. along with a copy of the virus he inserted into the computers there were also another set of files with no relationship to the virus at all. One of them is an MPEG, a video file."

"Open the video, Mr. Lancaster." Batman's voice sounded more like a growl. Lancaster gave him a resentful look from the corner of his eye. "Please."

"That's what I'm trying to do…but let me warn you. These files are not your regular information files. They have been modified in so many ways that now they will destroy every computer HD they are played on. Very clever…but a waste of hardware if you ask me. Joker probably wanted to make sure that the file could not be analyzed, and so far he has succeeded. Isolating the files has been impossible and I don't know if I ever will be able to do it." Lancaster turned the screen of the laptop to the caped figure. "Ready? Well, here goes an otherwise good laptop into the garbage bin."

The file opened and the image of the Joker sitting at his mahogany desk filled the screen. He was reading a copy of William Shakespeare's _Hamlet_. Joker could be heard giggling behind the book "This is too funny…at least it used to be." The Caped Detective heard the Clown say almost to a whisper. Only the Joker will find Hamlet funny. The Clown Prince lowered the book and looked at the camera attentively. His face showing his wide, macabre smile. The clown was wearing the same gray suit, black shirt and purple tie he wore at Wayne Tech. Batman inferred this video had been made shortly before.

"Oh, hi there Bats." Joker spoke as he set the book aside and intertwined his hand on the desk. "Just wanted to touch bases with you, because it seems you're having a little trouble getting to me this time and maybe I can help…am I too much for you, boy? Or maybe you're just too old for the task? Maybe you should consider retirement, before someone retires you permanently. Go, marry Catwoman, and have yourself a whole bunch of little bat-kitties." Joker flapped his hands beside him and mewed wheb all of a sudden he stood still, not moving a muscle, his eyes small as if in intense meditation. "Hold on…that's not a good idea… Cats hunt birds, and then what of me...? Killing Robins is my favorite pastime in the whoooole wide world…can't have any competition, can't have it any other way. But you knew that, didn't you, love?"

Joker giggled, and Gordon heard Batman clenching his fists underneath his cape, his jaw tightening in disgust over the reference to his dead ward. "Ahhh Batsy, why are you staring at me like that? You look angry and kind of disappointed. Are you expecting me to sit here to talk about my crimes and gloat about all the people I've killed and give you a hint as to what I'm trying to do next? (He, he, he)" Joker shook a menacing index finger to the camera, then slowly changed it to his middle finger. His smile was unusually wide. " Not this time, sweetie pie. I'm the greatest criminal mastermind in the universe… and you… just one detective on Gordon's payroll, and a lousy one for that matter when you can't catch a murderous clown like us. Aren't you so hot, Batsy? The Sherlock Holmes of the _Chiroptera _family..? Prove it. This time you will have to sweat all the answers, one by one. And I'm gonna make it worst than passing a kidney stone, so enjoy the pain." Joker sighed. "It makes me so happy to see you in pain...shared pain might be half the pain but double the happiness…my happiness…"The Clown's smile widened. "Pain is something you and I have in common, don't we?"

Joker rose from his desk and walked around until he stopped in front of it. He then rested against it while crossing his arms over his chest. Joker shook his head. "You know Bats…this little game we play would be a lot more fun if you just brighten up, kid! You think I haven't noticed you don't laugh? It's like you put on all your pain and frustration along with that cowl and cape of yours and just go out to try to wrap up your incomplete, miserable life with the pain you inflict on others. You're too pathetic, old friend. What happened to your childhood Bats, what are you trying to make up for? Daddy didn't buy you that GIJoe for Christmas? Or maybe mommy didn't let you try that dress?" Joker made a stop in his discourse as if allowing for his words to sink in. "After all you like very young boys around you…(hee, hee, heeeee) Let me think about it and I'll find out what makes you hate my performances so much, but definitely…I don't make you happy, and for that …I've failed." Joker wiped a fake tear from his face and put a hand over his chest contritely then continued.

"Word of advice though…If you don't like my show…then well…don't show." Joker giggled. The Clown left out a deep sigh that quickly transformed into a yawn. "You bore me to death and I don't need a sourpuss like you to spoil my act. Maybe I should just perform for another audience; one that understands where this clown is coming from… There are countless of other people that are dying to see one of my performances. Speaking of death…Tonight, you have to thank me that I let you go easy and I didn't kill anybody at the computer exhibit. Just for you, because I'm in control and as a proof of my love to you...you know you're very dear to me lover boy, don't you..? Well, time for the closing act my dear boy, so bye bye and don't forget to write. "Joker threw a kiss at the screen and the image in the monitor froze; flickered and went dark. There was a hissing sound coming from the laptop and finally it went silent. Meredith closed the computer and made the sign of the cross over the machine as if blessing the equipment.

"What do you think?" Gordon asked.

"I think its sick…that's what I think. The reference to Robin…and he said that he wasn't planning on killing anybody when we ended up with five people dead because of him." Batman remembered that awful night, the gunshots, the people falling to the floor, and Max Davenport's pain at the loss of his wife and he felt his blood boil.

"Six. There was a lady in critical care that died this morning. The only survivor of the shootout was her seven year old daughter."

Batman grunted. "Joker and his lies…No matter what Joker says, he's not in control. People keep dying around him. But his behavior is most unusual… You saw him. He was not…wearing his purple suit, but rather grey and black; and he spoke so calmly… even his jokes are somewhat moderate, more measured." …and the piece of free psychoanalysis that touched him really close was definitely out of character for the Joker, but that was something that he couldn't share that with Gordon now. There was something definitely very odd from the Clown Prince of Crime, something he could not dismiss as just another of the psychopath's performances. And the other thing that he couldn't shake out of his mind was the free token of psychoanalysis that the Joker gave him…the damn Clown was hurting him were it was going to be more difficult to heal.

"Do you think there was a hidden message in the video?"

"No, not the video because Joker was selecting his words very carefully. He just wanted to mock me and at the same time hurt me…I think we can get more information from the place were it was filmed. You saw the desk behind him? Two carved jesters on the front of each leg. Highly unusual piece of furniture, maybe a unique piece. I'm sure that desk was commissioned."

Gordon straightened up on his chair and secured his glasses."I knew you will be able to find a clue in that video...I'm going to start investigating all the furniture makers of this city. Someone has to know about that desk."

"It's something to start with, I have a few sources that might know more of that desk, in a more intimate way, and I'm sure there is more in that video... Mr. Lancaster," Batman turned to the computer specialist. "Had someone taped the video?"

"Yes, but the quality is much poorer. That's why Gordon insisted I showed you the original."

"I would still like to get a copy . If I can analyze it in detail, maybe it will give us more hints of Joker's location. You also said that there were more programs in that disk; have you had time to figure them out?"

"Well, there's this problem…" saidLancaster motioning at the computer. "We have a dead computer now, and the same thing will happen if we even try to touch the files, even more if I try to extract any of them from the disk."

"Any ideas on what they might be?"

"I suspect they are small autoexecutable files that work to destroy the HD, but with Joker, who knows?"

"Joker left his first clue behind. Even if his act is a little bit different…it's still Joker after all."

"We'll keep trying to extract the files from the disk." Lancaster said. "I would just like to know who designed these programs because he's really good, very clean. They guy is definitely not an amateur."

"His name is Michael Garibaldi. He goes by the hacker name of Blip." Batman said absentmindedly.

"Blip? Blip did this?"

"You know Blip, Mr. Lancaster?" Gordon said not helping noticing Meredith's increased interest on the hacker's name.

"Of course I know Blip…I mean, what good hacker have not at least heard from Blip. The guy tried to enter the Pentagon computers some years ago using a small UNIX/C program so tiny but so complex…" Lancaster kissed the tips of his fingers. "It was a thing of beauty."

"Blip is working with Joker now." Batman scowled.

"Uh-oh. Blip must be out of his mind, poor kid…I wonder what made him do it?"

"Money," Gordon said sitting down at his desk. "Joker must have made him an offer he couldn't resist. That's the way Joker hires his associates."

"What can you tell me of Blip? Do you know where I could find him?"

"Not really, Batman. I just met the guy a few times on the Net when I was into hacking, but he struck me as a loner who doesn't like violence. I don't think anybody knows where he operates from, more than once he had referred to his wereabouts as the Asylum, and now I know that was not just a name. It was obvious to me that he prefers the background; working behind the stage and away from the public eye, the bright lights. Not very common traits on a hacker, since we...ahem...they want to show off on the Net and demonstrate their power by hacking the most secure networks. Which surprises me of Blip is that being that shy, why work with the psychopath..? You can't get any more violent or more in the public eye than with the Joker."

"Garibaldi still wants to show off, Mr. Lancaster. The fact that he hides behind the Joker, proves this. How many people can claim their the right hand of the Clown Prince of Crime, and still live?"

"No more backstage duties for Garibaldi, it seems. He's associated with the wrong crowd. and now we know about it." Gordon said looking at the caped figure that stood silently against the window in his office looking out at the skyline. "Well, Mr. Lancaster, thanks for your help, but I need to speak in private with the Batman. If you don't mind leaving us for a moment…"

"Understood, sir." Meredith answered picking the laptop and the AC adapter. "I still have some friends on the Net that might know more about Blip. If I find anything, I'll let you know."

Gordon nodded but the Caped Crusader remained impassive looking out the window in the Commissioner's office. Lancaster left the room and closed the door behind him. Batman left out a deep sigh.

"I'll take it the video is not the only thing you wanted to show me…"

"No, we have another murder."

"Who was it this time?"

"The name is Iago Thrermoupoulos. Sounds familiar to you?"

"The drug dealer?" Batman looked at Gordon suspiciously. "I have interfered with some of his businesses. He is good friends of the Black Mask, isn't he?"

"Yes, he WAS. The police was called into his apartment by an anonymous tip and we found two of Thermoupoulos men and a local prostitute massacred, cut to pieces…It was a bloody mess."

"And Thermoupoulos?"

"That was the hardest scene…he was in the floor of his room, in a pool of blood, beaten beyond recognition, some of his skin was peeled off and they even shoved a bat…" Gordon didn't need to continue. Batman face showed the disgust. "Well, I have the pictures."

Batman walked over to the Commissioner's desk and took the pictures, sifting through them slowly. "That's Cotton Candy…" Batman said stopping at one of the pictures.

"Yes, there were a lot of opened cotton candy bags all over the apartment. We counted over seventy, but there could have been even more, because they found twice as much cotton candy in Iago's stomach." Batman looked at Gordon, slightly puzzled. "Thermoupoulos was diabetic, and we couldn't find any insulin or glycemic drug on the apartment."

"Someone really had it against Thermoupoulos. That had to be a painful death."

"And long. Forensics thinks that they tortured him for close to a week. The cotton candy though…"

"I know what you're thinking, Jim, and I agree." Batman continued looking at the pictures. "But the violence with which this crime has been committed…it surpasses anything the Joker might have done before. Did he leave a Joker card…a note?""

"No, but the cotton candy…could it be someone else?"

"But the slashing is so uncharacteristic …Iago had a lot of enemies too. He had a volatile temper and has hurt a lot of people in the past. In theory, this is a crime anyone with a past with Thermoupoulos could have committed, but when you look at the evidence…only Joker could think of killing someone with cotton candy."

"That's what I thought, but there is no way to be sure of that," Gordon said going through the file in front of him. "The fingerprints found at the scene do not correspond to anything we have on record so we have no proof he was in the apartment. I'm running a search on the National Fingerprint Database to see if we have a match somewhere else."

"Still, there's the question as to why he did it. I don't recall anybody ever mentioning that Iago and Joker worked together. As a matter of fact…Joker doesn't deal."

"Joker always worked alone, remember? Then Garibaldi's name comes up. I believe we didn't know Joker that well after all."

Batman soughed deeply and set the pictures on the Commissioner's desk. Gordon's word hurt him more than the mockery Joker had spilled in his video, because he knew, the Commissioner was right. This was highly unusual and the truth was that Batman had to admit that like the police, he didn't know Joker as he needed to know him. But dealing? Batman would have known a long time ago if Joker was dealing drugs or not. How could someone overlook a client like that…unless the Joker was not the one doing the dealings…He had Garibaldi to run his finances for him, could he have someone else doing the drug deals for him?

Joker had managed to surprise him again. The Clown was slithering through the underworld, and he didn't even suspect, but that would definitely explain how the Joker was able to find funds every time he escaped to run his crimes. What other surprises did the Clown Prince of Crime had in store for him? He had underestimated his enemy, and that didn't make him proud…instead it left the toll of eleven dead people. Eleven people he felt responsible for, because he had not been able to stop the Clown Prince of Crime in time. How could he have missed these facts? He was approaching this case blindly, dealing with an enemy that he thought he knew but that had turned into a total stranger. Maybe that was the reason why now the Joker was able to mock him, because in his logic, the bat had been most blind to his enemy, and the Clown had been kind enough to spill his venom in the video and reminded him how far away he was of catching him. He needed to correct this mistake; knowing everything about Joker was the only weapon he had against the Clown Prince of Crime, and could mean the difference between sending the Clown back to Arkham and seeing more people die around him.

"This round goes to Joker…but just temporarily. This match is not over."

"Joker mentioned the news of the second killer been your idea…"

Batman sighed. "Yes, it was… and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I had hope Joker's ego wouldn't have resisted and he would have tried something openly. You probably wouldn't have agreed, but I had to try... It had always worked in the past…but now, I'm not sure with what are dealing with…a Joker that's not a Joker..."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker stormed into the hideout. In the main room, Punch, Elliot, along with "Mountain man" and a few other Leopards were watching the TV, while Charley sat by herself playing a game of solitaire in the corner. On the other side of the room, Blip had set a computer station, with several laptops linked together and hooked to half a dozen of other peripherals. The boss, headed towards his office, in total silence in long fast strides while messing his until now nicely combed hair into a wild mane and undoing his tie. The Clown was grunting and growling under his breath and sometimes a word or two could be made up from his mumbling. He heard them talking among themselves and every so often someone addressed him, but he did not respond. He entered his office mumbling to himself and closed the door loudly behind him.

The gang looked at each other with bewildered faces, but many of them just shrugged and return to their activities. Charley remained attentive, and looked over to Michael at the computer station who looked very surprised at the Joker's odd entrance, and even started to follow him before stopping and resuming his duties at the computer terminal when he noticed he was been observed intently by Charley. He lowered his eyes and went back to his duties at the station.

Blip always was a good indicator as to what was normal or not on his boss. She did not understand what type of relationship the hacker had with the clown, but whatever it was, it had been there for some time and had to be very important for Joker, since Blip was the only one from which he tolerated screaming and yelling, and the Clown just had to give him one of those looks to have Blip submissively groveling at his feet. Today, Blip behavior was highly unusual. He even tried to follow the boss to his office, but had hesitated to do so. Blip was concerned, but at the same time, scared. She remember the stories from the other members of the gang on how the boss was addicted to theatrical antics and they have become accustomed to them, but today Joker seemed to want to disappear from the face of the world. This was not a theatrical performance, he was angry, and any type of deviation of the norm from the happy go jolly clown, could mean a great deal to the fragile yet profitable relationship between the Joker and her gang, maybe even something that she could later exploit. She stood up from the chair and walked over to the computer wiz. Blip tried to ignore her.

"So, Blip. Are your boss's tantrums quite common?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Michael answered dryly.

"Didn't you see 'im when he arrived? I could almost see daggers shooting from his eyes."

"Don't sweat it and leave him alone to chill that one out. It always works, and in no time he will be his jolly self again." A loud crashing noise came from the Joker's office and Blip's computers went off line. "SHIT!!"

"Or maybe not." Charley replied rushing towards the Joker's private office.

"Charley, no! Come back!" Michael yelled to the departing figure. "Leave 'im alone."

Too late. She was already at the door. Charley put her hands against it and leaned over, pressing her ear against the wood. No noise was coming from the inside. She knocked twice. No response. She knocked again and then she heard a thud against the door that made her back off a few paces. Then it was followed by another, and another. She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door ever so slightly, then peeked into the office. She heard another thud, this one very close to her right and when she looked she saw a playing card with the Joker's image embedded in the door frame. Another card followed that one very close to her head. These were not ordinary cards, these were sharp blades shaped and painted to look like a Joker playing card and thrown with that much force… could get someone killed.

"Thought I had locked that door", said a familiar voice from the inside while another card hit the door.

"No, you didn't. Can I come in?" asked Charley not able to hold a shudder in her voice.

"You invited yourself in already, so what's the point in asking?"

"Good manners?"

She heard a chortle. "We don't care; enter at your own risk."

Charley slipped inside the office and at the other end, Joker sat at his mahogany desk, feet resting on top of it while he played with a deck of cards in his hands. He had already remove the gross cream makeup from his face, and prosthetics but still sported the brown hair on top of his dead, now wild as always. On the floor in front of the table laid the remains of the computer that used to be on the desk, now a bundle of glass, cables and circuits crunched together into a large pile. It looked like somebody had danced Flamenco on the CPU.

"I thought there was someone else in here."

"What made you think that?" Joker started to do tricks with the cards in his hands without looking up.

"You just said 'we'…" Joker lifted his head and looked at her quizzically, Charley just sighed. "So what's eating you, boss? Meeting with Riddler didn't go as planned?"

"_Au contraire mon petit fleur_," finally answered the Clown Prince. He made the cards dance between his fingers. "It couldn't have been better. Complete success." The Joker gave her a very stern look and left out a loud cackle. "Did you know he even said I was the cherry on top of his cream pie? He should know better than to hand a cream pie to a clown…imbecile."

"When you didn't return yesterday like you promised, we got worried. We were all a little concerned for your state of mind; you don't seem your happy self lately and you're acting a little weird."

"I don't need to tell you where I'm going." He shuffled the deck in his hand nervously. "I…I just needed some fresh air…time to think, wash my hands in some fresh blood…" Joker frowned.

"See? That's what I'm referring to. There is something really wrong with you." She said as one of the cards flew past her head and hit the black glass wall behind her, causing a large crack in the middle of the window pane. Charley drew her gun and held it close to her side.

"Really? What makes you think so?"

"Hey, calm down, Joker. I don't know what happened to you, but it's not my fault. OK?"

"It's not yours, my sweet Princess. It's hers."

"Hers? Who is she?"

"Who..?" Joker whispered playing with the deck absentmindedly in his hand. "WHO? Dr. Harleen Quinzel of course. Harley Quinn." Joker set the remainder of his card deck on the table and walked around the desk to the remains of the computer on the floor. He started kicking the machine aggressively.

"Your girlfriend?"

Joker made a quick pause in his destructive behavior to look at Charley. "She's not my girlfriend, who said she was my girlfriend?" He started to stomp on the remains of plastic and circuits with all his might. "Why does… everybody… keeps calling her… my girlfriend."

"Sorry if I touched a nerve, Boss, but that's what everybody says around here," Charley noted a hint of a smile in the Joker's face followed by a burst of laughter.

"Ha! Poor delusional ruffians I associate with…" Joker said while his laughter subsided and he jumped to sit on the table. "Well, my 'girlfriend' has been 'cheating' me with my enemy during the last few weeks. Would you believe that?" Another burst of maniacal laughter followed.

"The Batman?"

"No, ol' Saint Nick. Hanky panky in the North Pole," Joker said with a grimace. "Yes, the Batman."

"Are you jealous of the Batman?"

"No, I'm not!" Joker fumed.

"Yes, you are."

"Am not." Joker got down from the table and stood within inches of her face.

"You…are." Charley smiled and she heard the Joker growl as he crossed his arms obviously annoyed with the accusation and put on a face as serious as his carved smile allowed. He looked like a disgruntled little kid. "And how do you know about this?"

"Nigma told me." Charley crooked an eyebrow. "And I know what you're thinking and YES I confirmed the information last night, and YES she's cheating me with the Fliedermaus, and NO I'm not jealous and NO, I'm not gonna calm down because I'm so furious, that when I explode, I'm gonna make the Krakatoa look like a firecracker." Joker huffed and puffed a little and then started to laugh again. "Well, maybe I was a little jealous for like…maybe two and a halfseconds….three at the most. "

Joker's laughter stopped suddenly when he realized that Charley did not seemed amused at all. She just stood there looking at him with a quizzical stare, probably wondering if she needed to call the men in white. He grabbed the top card from the deck on the table and started to balance it flatly on his index finger. He flipped the card upwards, caught it in midair and flung it with all his might against the door where it embedded halfway into the wood. Charley smiled softly

"Feeling better now after you let it out?" Joker glared at her and she handed him a DVD. "By the way, your thorn has been removed from your side. Hope you have enough sick and graphic footage for your scrapbook, just like you like it. You transferred my payment?"

Joker flung the DVD on the table without paying much attention to it. "I'll have Blip transfer your money, Princess...you made sure Bat-brain will find Iago, right?"

"I didn't put a neon sign saying 'Batman look here', but I think the Bat will find him; and since you didn't want me to leave your calling card, I had to use my imagination to make it totally you. Let me know if you like my interpretation of you…Bloody but funny." said Charley smiling. Joker didn't even looked at her. He just stood resting against his desk with his arms folded over his chest that rose very slowly, and his feet crossed. "I still didn't make you happy… did I?"

"No, you didn't." Joker let out la loud snort. "I can't stop wondering how many bits of important information she's been sharing with that flying rat. I had expected her to respect our old partnership, but noooo, she betrays my trust. You can't confide on anybody these days. This could fuck up everything…"

"Too bad. You want me to snuff her?"

Joker's eyes sparkled and a sinister smile split his face. "Would you do that for me? Just as you did Iago? I'm touched."

"For the right price I'll do anything for you, boss." Charley smiled back.

Joker looked at her intensely, that evil smile still on his face. "And what would be your price this time, my beautiful executioner? Another fifteen grand?"

Charley replaced the revolver in her holster and got a copy of the Gotham Gazette that was sitting on the Joker's desk. After searching a few pages, she flipped the newspaper and showed to the Clown Prince one of the headlines.

**DIAMONDS AND PRECIOUS GEMS GALORE!! THIRD NATIONAL **

**GEM TRADER EXHIBITION AND AUCTION TO BE HELD AT THE GOTHAM MUSEUM**

**OF NATURAL HISTORY, LaVERNE WARD. **

"Like you did in the old days, Boss?" Charley said with a smile.

"No, too menial," Joker said shaking his head. "Not proportional to my status of criminal mastermind."

"But worth the investment. Cheating is the worst type of betrayal." Charley put on a sad face.

Joker sighed. "What is it with you women and diamonds, anyway?"

"Diamonds are girl's best friends…close to twenty million friends in this case…"

Joker looked at Charley keenly and ran a hand down his long white face. His green eyes focused as in intense brooding. "I don't know… this just feels…wrong." He finally said starting to pace the office slowly. There was an expression of heavy sadness on his face. "Too much murder lately…It's my Harley Pooh, after all…maybe I should just let it pass, maybe she didn't…she couldn't…she…"

"Getting cold feet?" Charley walked closer to the Clown Prince. "Your girlfriend should have thought of that when she decided to speak to the Bat. Instead, she decides to betray you and maybe even conspire against you...that's your loving girlfriend for you. And remember, Boss, I'm in this mess with you so if she's fucking with you, she's fucking with me."

I LIKE HER. Joker stared at Charley and put a hand on her shoulder. "Princess, you're icier than me…that's scary…" A toothy smile appeared on his lips. "Would you marry me?"

Charley made a disgusted grimace. "In your dreams."

"Whew, thanks!…Got scared you were going to say yes…" Joker said as if catching his breath while he giggled childishly. "You're right, Charley. I gave her my best years and how does she repay me...? BESTIALITY!. If you take care of my little problem, I'll give you the entire collection of auctioned gems after paying expenses, deal Princess?"

"Deal. And while I'm in Arkham I can also take care of the Riddler, love. For free." Charley caressd the Clown's chin tenderly with her hand.

"Oh, how thoughtful of you, but no thanks, darling. I already took care of THAT little problem." Joker walked back to the seat behind the desk. "Close the door behind you. I need to come up with a plan to get your payment."

"Hm, boss. I don't know what Blip was doing when you decided to destroy the computer, but I think he was working on something important."

"Oh my. … Gravity, bad gravity…always brings everything crashing down." Joker said with his eyes wide in fake terror as he started to laugh again wielding a menacing index finger to the floor. "On your way out tell Blip to come by. Maybe he can save something out of his mess."

Charley smiled. It really started to look like this relationship with the Joker and the gang was finally starting to be profitable, but at the same time, saner or not, the boss' behavior was becoming weirder and more erratic by the minute. She knew the guy was insane, but this abnormal behavior could later result in a problem. After all, insane people are so unpredictable… Well, she'll give him a little more time, if things get any worse she could just break this partnership and head back home. Business in Brenton was always good. She saw Blip looking at her as she exited the office and with a smile on her face that was more a pretentious statement than a sign of bliss, she pointed him to the office.

"Found the problem with your computer, Blip. The one in Joker's office 'crashed'. See if you can scrape it from the floor in his office." said Charley laughing softly. Michael glared furiously at her as she headed out of the Joker's office and into the common area.

* * *

There you have it. Enjoy and let me know if you like it., Thanks a million, Isabel 


	16. It's a War on Crime

Author's Note: For all of you friends following this story...another chapter in the saga...Can't believe the novel is half way already, and I hope you all have been having a blast reading it as I had been writing it. Now...Enjoy and dont forget to leave your Feedback (critism is accepted)

Dislaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Reader discretion is adviced

CHAPTER 16: IT'S A WAR IN CRIME

Batman witnessed it all. Six people in the alley, two of them were having a very animated conversation. They must be arguing, for the volume of the conversation was escalating rapidly. This could not end well, he thought. Beside him, Robin was overlooking the alley as well, his body language spelling the urge to enter into action. In the street beloe, half a dozen men all dressed in black approached the alley rapidly and faced the group. The yelling, rapidlytransformed into screaming, insults and challenges; something about leopards and kittens, in no time all hell broke loose. Robin was the first to see the glint of metal.

"They're armed, let's go." The young sidekick said aiming his grapple to the building next door and releasing the trigger. Batman couldn't stop him, Robin was already swinging down to the alley and all he could do was follow the kid. Sometimes he wished the boy was not so impulsive. That attitude could spell disaster. When he arrived to the ground, he saw Robin already on top of one of the assailants, pounding heavilyon the gang member. –"It's Batman, run!" the Dark Knight heard someone say and he saw some shadows leaving the scene. Then from a corner two men jumped on him. One wielded a blade Batman found easy to dispose of, producing a dislocated shoulder in the process. The second man threw a heavy chain that at him that the Dark Knight grabbed in midair and with a forceful pull, flung the punk against a wall. Batman looked around trying to locate Robin and noticed the boy being fought into a darker corner of the alley where two shadows seemed to be waiting.

"Down!" said Batman thrusting his batarang dead center into the abysmal darkness. Robin went down on his stomach and two loud thuds confirmed the weapon had hit its mark. The boy wonder then spun around and kicked his attacker forcing him down into the ground; a second kick and the assailant moved no more. Tim adjusted a pair of shackles, securing the enemy's hand behind his back. Robin shifted his interest on the black caped figure that was standing not too far away and saw him holding someone forcefully against the wall. After a brief episode of cussing, Robin heard a loud smacking noise followed by a loud thud close to him. In the floor he saw one of the attackers, unconscious and shackled.

Robin took a quick glance around the alley. Only two of the attackers had been arrested, the other's managed to escape. That was disappointing, but at least no one got hurt, right?Someone moaned in the dark corner and he saw slight movement from a shadow on the floor close to the fire escape ladder. Tim moved quickly over the fallen victim and shone his personal flashlight over the body. The chest was rising and falling steadily and two very scary eyes were looking at him. Robin could not believe how young this fellow was. On his best estimate he should not be older than fifteen or sixteen, and was obviously terrified.

"Stay calm, we're here to help you, OK?" said the Boy Wonder as he noticed the dark figure of the Batman beside him. "Where are you hurt?" The boy signaled to his side and Robin noted the wet red spot just above the pants. The young man had been stabbed and it looked serious. Robin quickly took a few gauzes from his mini medical kit and applied a pressure bandage over the wound.

"Oracle. I have an ADW and a 10-15 on McKenzie and Ferguson Boulevard. Request a 10-45, immediately." The Batman said kneeling beside the victim. "The police are sending a patrol car and an ambulance. Who were these guys?"

"The…Leopards. Trying to… take over our turf," said the injured gang member on the floor.

"Never heard of them," the Dark Detective said.

"Out of town…assholes!" The boy winced. "Say Grand Snow Leopard… gave them the city."

"Very powerful this Snow Leopard is if he can give away a city." Robin said retrieving his medical kit.

"Especially when it doesn't belong to him, Robin. Who would be crazy enough to..?"

"What?" Robin asked the caped shadow beside him while putting a dressing on the abdominal injury of the young man.

"Do you know who this Snow Leopard is?" Batman asked the young man on the floor. The man shook his head slowly. "I have a hunch that this new gang might be related to a local crime lord, maybe even a certain clown we know. I would also select my friends more carefully if I were you, young man. Yours left when we arrived."

The communicator in Batman's cowl beeped twice. "Yes, Oracle?"

"I Intercepted a communication from Lt. Bullock. There is a disturbance in the Docks that appears to involve Garrison and Black Tom's gangs in an intense gunfight." said Barbara.

"Probably trying to determine who inherits Iago's goods. Thanks for the update." Batman put his hand over Robin's shoulder. "There is something big at the Docks, Robin, the police might need help. You OK staying here until the police and the ambulance arrives?"

"Sure thing." The boy wonder said pointing at the shackled unconscious Leopards on the floor. "Those two are not going anywhere. I'll join you shortly. You really think Joker is related to the Leopards, Batman?"

"Don't know for sure until we interrogate these punks. In the meantime, I'll keep in touch." There was a rumbling noise approaching the alley and the Batmobile profile appeared. Batman got in and sped away.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

The four figures waited patiently at the door of the museum. This December night was unusually cold and three of the figures cowered together very close while exchanging a smoke. The fourth figure, a rather tall and slim man, rested against the door frame, and though he was wearing a dark scarf cowering the bottom half of his face, the soft illumination from the security lights of the building gave his exposed face a ghoulish white glow. He was playing with two small coins in his hand shifting one behind the other with his fingers.

"Aren't you cold, Boss?"

"Oooh yes." answered the man with a chuckle. "I'm a cold, bloodthirsty, homicidal son of a bitch."

"I didn't mean…oh, hell. You sure it will be OK doing this gig this late? The Bat..."

"The Bat is not going to bother us tonight, Milton. Have some faith in good ol' me, would you?" He flipped both coins and caught them in midair between his gloved hands. When he opened his hands again the coins had disappeared.

"That was a neat trick, sir."

"Twofer taught me that one. Now boys, time to rock-and-roll." There was a noise by the entrance, the door opened slightly, and a hand signaled them to enter. The four figures disappeared inside the building. The last one to enter was the boss who could not help to smile widely to the outdoors as he slid into the museum. The museum foyer was fully decorated in the Christmas spirit. From the entrance doors to the central vault of the lobby large swags ran on the walls, each one adorned with glass ornaments, miniature musical instruments, and flowers in red and gold accents. Under the central vault was a twelve feet tall Christmas tree decorated in burgundy and gold with miniature angels and bells. All around the base of the tree, were blue, green, golden and silver gift boxes set nicely on the velvety dark red tree skirt. Joker could smell the strong aroma of the pine tree…the images and smell of past Christmases hit him like a wall on the face. _HEY, REMEMBER WHEN YOUR DAD DRANK THE MONEY FOR THE CRISTMAS GIFTS...? HE SAID YOU HAD BEEN A BAD BOY THAT YEAR_, a voice said in his mind. _HA, HA. THAT WAS ONE EMPTY SCRAWNY CHRISTMAS TREE. _He shook his head trying to brush of the memory with the wild gesture. _THEN THERE WAS THE TREE IN CITY HALL LAST YEAR…WITH THE DEADLY VENOM-LADDEN CLOWNS GASSING THE CHRISTMAS CAROLERS… NOW, THAT WAS FUNNY…JINGLE BELLS… BATMAN SMELLS…EVERYBODY'S DEAD… HA, HA, HA, HAAAAA…_

Joker smiled… "You know the drill now, kiddies. But this time, let's just get the loot and split. No playing around."

"Did Blip take care of the entire security system?

"But of course" said the boss with a faked English accent and remove his scarf. His ruby lips extended in a wide smile taken from a horror story. "Alarm, infrared sensors, weight sensors… Is the boy good or what?"

"I'm still nervous, Mr. Joker. The Bat is out there and you know how many times this museum has been robbed in the past?"

"Worry not, my friend. The Museum thinks nobody knows the gem collection is already here so they're not expecting visitors yet. And the Bat...well, the Bat is kind of busy at the moment."

"But security here is probably as tight as in Arkham."

"And yet, here am I." said the main man with short burst of laughter patting Milton forcefully on his shoulder. "Take it from me. If it's anything like Arkham this is going to be a walk in the park."

There were now six figures moving around the museum rooms. The plan had gone as originally conceived, and now they had the entire museum for themselves. They passed the U.S. history, and the Science exhibits. Joker stopped momentarily to admire the large painting of two battling mammoths on the wall of the Paleontology exhibit. On the bottom of the painting he saw a golden plaque:

THE WOOLY MAMMOTH—MURAL DONATED BY LEX CORPS, 2001.

"A bald man donating a painting of wooly mammoths…oh, oh. Missing something, Lexy?"—Joker chuckled then spoke in a grave voice. "I'm not just a client; I'm also the president of the hair…" He heard a noise behind him and turned quickly, but the exhibit was deserted, nothing moved around him. He narrowed his eyes. _PREY_. He sniffed the air once. Nothing. He walked the entire length of the mural, to allow for a different point of reference. Still this was an empty exhibit and he was probably so tired that he was starting to hear things. _KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN, JACK_. Joker smiled and flounced from the Paleontology exhibit to join his gang that had already arrived to the storage vaults where according to Blip they were keeping the gems before setting up the exhibit.

His men had started to open the security vaults, a task that was taking more time than he had expected. Joker started to get bored. What he really wanted was to redecorate all the exhibits in his own particular style and then blow the entire building into smithereens. After all, who really cared for the diamonds when he could make a much greater statement if he destroyed the whole museum? If he could destroy history, no one will remember it. He loved to make bold statements, but tonight he will have to settle for the precious stones. He took out a pack of playing cards from the pocket of his dark green suit and gave them a good shuffle. He started to pick at the cards one by one, his white face sullen as he dismissed the entire deck into a pile on the desk beside him.

"One is indeed the loneliest number, especially when you are as unique as me. Nothing or no one to relate to. There's no Joker in this deck, boys."

"Don't feel so blue, Boss. I could've let you at one of the guards, Mr. Joker, for your entertainment."

"Stop brownnosing Elliot," answered the boss with an angry stare. "You can't scope the true meaning of what we're doing here."

"Uh… were stealing some jewels, right?"

"Yes, but this is also a test to my sanity." Elliott looked around at the other henchmen. Joker sighed scornfully. "Oh, forget about it. What do you know of sanity... when you take it for granted? How long before you can open that, Milton?"

The man with the small acetylene torch stopped working on the vault and looked at the Clown prince. "I would say another twenty to thirty minutes and that's assuming that Blip's little gizmo really works."

"Don't worry, the kid has always delivered. Well, don't let me interrupt you, boy.Carry on." said Joker walking toward the large black man in the corner. "Jake, care to join me to a little stroll around the place? You too, Elliot. You look like you could use some culture. Everybody else keep tight."

The three men left the storage vault and walked into the Native American exhibition. Joker walked around with his hands clasped behind him, in long, almost rhythmical strides as if dancing to an inner tune. He was headed back to the Paleontology exhibit.

"Mr. J-man," said Jake coming closer to a sculpture of a Native American boy holding some fish in his hands. "Remember Charley said to limit ourselves to stay close to the vault."

"She'd understand if she was as bored as me, Jake. Right now I'm in the mood to see something dead and unless you're volunteering…the dinosaurs will have to do…." Joker said while smiling sardonically at the large black man. The black man grunted and walked towards the exhibit with the Indian boy and the fishes.

"Hey, look at these guys here." called Elliot as he was joined by Joker and Jake. They all stood in front of three statues posed as if dancing around a made-up fire and dressed up in exuberant costumes made up of feathers, wolf skins and wood, with faces painted in blacks and reds. "Rain makers?"

Joker eyed Elliot evilly. "It's all rain making to you, isn't it? They are using magic to strengthen the heart of the warrior for the upcoming battle. This is a warrior dance, Elliot, not the Weather Channel. You're hopeless. On the other hand…these guys have an interesting concept of fashion. Remind me of certain Dynamic Duo." Joker giggled and jumped into the exhibit walking over to the statue with the bird costume and removed the feathery headpiece from the mannequin's head and was about to try it on when he noted some movement within the shadows at the far end of the room. He tossed the Native American headpiece to the side and squinted trying to focus in the darkness. Could this be another one of those hallucinations? He slowly removed his fedora and ran a hand through his green hair while he walked towards Elliott and Jake.

"Boss?" said 'Mountain Man' immediately understanding the Joker's body language and reaching for his gun. Joker did not answer back, just lifted a gloved hand and waved an index finger as he placed the other one over his earpiece.

"Blip, can you give me a headcount? I think we've got company." He whispered to the microphone on his lapel. "Three is the magic number."

"You're right, Boss. I'm reading four heat signals in that room you are now." said Michael from the other end of the transmitter. "Better abort the mission. If it's Batman…"

"I don't smell guano. Just tell give me the coordinates, please?"

"About twenty feet at one o'clock from where you are standing and twelve feet above. Boss, please leave now. It could be the police." Michael pleaded. Joker looked towards the coordinates Blip had given him, then cocked his head slightly to the side.

"If only pigs could fly…Could be, but I don't smell bacon either," answered the Clown Price as he put his hands on the pockets of his suit and retrieved a handful of marble grenades. "…and I'll leave after I'm done playing." With a swift almost acrobatic movement he tossed them to the specified location and after hitting its target, causing a loud explosion against the vaulted ceiling. Some of the stucco from the wall fell off and crumbled on the floor leaving a cloud of dust and something came down with a loud thud. The sprinklers started pouring cold water into the exhibit and the three men. "Blip, the fire alarm… and the sprinklers. I'm getting drenched here."

"On it, boss. You should've at least have given me a hint as to what you were going to do, you know?"

"And spoil a perfectly good surprise?" said Joker jumping out of the exhibit. "Come on boys; let's see what Santa brought us." They moved in the direction of the thud, Jake 'Mountain Man' taking the lead followed closely by Elliot and the Joker. From the twilight they could hear someone moaning. Jake returned carrying something bulky over his shoulder. He let it fall on the floor front of the boss where it groaned painfully. "Well, well, well. Isn't this a happy coincidence?"

* * *

Here you have it...Please let me know what you think. Thanks...yours truly, Isabel (Jokerlady) 


	17. Intermission

Author's Note: Thank you all for your wonderful comments. It is a great inspiration to continue writing. For all of you following this story...continue leaving feedback. Ideas and criticism are always welcome...This story is for all of you..Enjoy!!!

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: Some scenes in this story contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS and some instances, like this particular chapter, there might be some indication of GRAPHIC VIOLENCE. Reader Discretion is adviced.

**CHAPTER 17: INTERMISSION:**

Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

The instructions have been precise to a tee. Joker indeed knew his way around the Hospital's premises. If his last set of instructions were also correct this underground corridor will lead directly to the laundry room. There she could change into a set of nurse's clothes and run through the building practically undisturbed. At least in theory. The boss had even facilitated her with a hospital ID tag that he had collected previously in one of his escapes sure that it will come handy some day. She found the room and pushed slightly on the tiny door taking a peek into the premises using a small mirror. Empty. Joker even knew the schedules in the laundry room. That was scary.

She pushed the door a little until it would not give anymore. The opening was still too small at least for a regular man to fit through but a petite female like herself could probably squeeze to the other side with some work. She wondered how Joker could have used this exit before. He was definitely thin but also a tall man; she'll have to ask him sometime how he did it. It did not take her long to find a pile of nurse's uniforms and after quickly eyeballing a few of them she finally found one that looked like a good fit. She quickly dressed up,combed her short black hair with her hands, put the tag on her uniform and after swinging the bag over her shoulder walked out into the hall.

She encountered a few of the doctors chatting in the hall. They saluted her and she returned the greeting shyly. The doctors past her, and continued down the hall with their own business. So far, that was good news. Charley kept walking down the hall until she arrived to the mess room. At this time of night only one person was using it; a large man, about in his late-thirties dressed in dark blue scrubs and reading a History Today magazine. The orderly looked at her and she saw the three scars in the right side of his face. Ronald Hodgeson, one of the night orderlies. Joker had spoken of him, and how he got those scars wrestling Killer Croc down during one of his rages, he had also told her Hodgeson would be in the mess room at this time of night, reading on his favorite subject. Joker had everybody's schedule to the most minimal detail…even scarier. Ronald greeted her and returned to his reading.

Walking over to one of the tables she produced a book from her bag: 7 WAYS TO SMILE WITH YOUR SOUL, just like Joker had instructed her to do. It was odd, but the boss knew his business. Still, this would've been the last book she would have read in her life, it was embarrassing to even be seen with that book in her possession. Charley sat at the table and took a small notebook from her bag and started to fake taking notes from the book.

A chronograph alarm went off and she noted that Ronald looked at his watch. Charley guessed: 10:30 p.m. and the end of Hodgeson's break. Ronald closed his magazine, got up and went to the lockers on the back of the room. He stored his magazine inside one of the lockers and after closing the padlock on the door, started to walk towards the exit.

"G'night," He said as he passed her by after taking a quick look at her badge. "Ms. Rubeck." She nodded and saw him leave out of the room. She sighed in relief that she was alone for once, but then, what next? Joker was not too forthcoming for the rest of the planfrom this point on and that made her nervous.

The door opened and a nurse entered with a cup of coffee in her hand and a book on the other. She eyed Charley from a distance and then approached her taking a seat in front of her and setting her book side by side to the one already on the table. Both titles matched exactly. Charley turned to look at the nurse.

"You and I have the same exact same reading tastes. Unusual coincidence, don't you think?" said the nurse with a smile. She didn't look much older than fifty, but her hair had started to pepper and her face, already wrinkled and weary made her look probably older than she really was. Charley's nerves tensed. Has she being discovered or was this encountered planned by the Joker all along? "Thank your boss for the cash transfer, it was much needed."

"Sure," answered Charley with obvious tension on her voice.

The nurse took a sip of her coffee. "Don't worry dear. They allow us some privacy since this is the only room with no surveillance system. Name's Nancy, you ready?" Charley did not know what she was supposed to be ready for, Joker's instructions past this point were for the most part sketchy. Still she nodded. "Good. You're going to follow me and let me do the talking. Remember, you're a new intern and I need to show you around, so let me do my job. OK?"

Charley nodded again and picked up her notebook. "This has to be done quickly."

"I know, don't worry. You'll be out of here in no time. Let me take your book and store it in my locker. You'll only need your notebook for the rounds. I'll take care of your bag too. "

"My boss told me to give you this too." said Charley taking a small bottle. She then handed the bag to Nancy who rolled it very tight.

"Oh, French perfume. That flirt really knows how to get to a woman's heart; not only good with words but also with details. Very sweet, thanks." She opened the bottle and put the applicator against her nose. She sighed and applied a small amount behind each ear then stuffed the perfume in her locker along with the two copies of the book. "You know, we've been trying to find a way of making that psycho clown suffer just a fraction of the suffering he has caused this city and I think this is going to work just fine. Disposing of his girlfriend should touch 'im closely, don't you think?"

"You have no idea how close, Nancy." Charley answered just starting to realize how complex this plan has become. The Joker had been hiding his tracks very well. The nurse did not even know who she was really working for. "This will make him suffer alright."

"Good. This is going to make a lot of people very happy. It is just the beginning. Next time it will be him in the agenda." The nurse answered putting a strong emphasis on the last sentence as they heading to the door. "Let's go."

Both ladies left the room and walked down the hall. Nancy found a cart with the dirty laundry and with one rapid movement put the rolled bag inside the cart. They continued their trip down the hall. They passed two security posts with no problems. For once Charley thought that this crazy plan might actually work. They finally arrived to the women's ward and after confirming both their ID tags, the guards let them through.

They walked along the never ending corridor, passing cell after cell on the right hand side while Nancy explained who they belong to and what she considered were important facts about the inmate. Charley was sporadically taking notes and tried to look interested. They finally arrived to cell 6669. Nancy stopped by the door looking to the small camera in the hall behind Charley. Then the cell door opened.

"Twenty-two seconds, go." Nancy muttered eyeing Charley and cocking her head toward the cell. The nurse stayed outside watching the camera on the wall that was moving away from them.

Charley entered swiftly and approached the bed in the right side. She slowly leaned over the bundled figure and very gently started removing the covers, the pen firmly held in her left hand like a knife ready to strike. To her surprise the bed was empty; a series of towels were rolled and conformed to make an almost human form underneath. She looked around and confirmed that the cell was empty.

"Shit! He's not gonna like this". She said storming out of the cell in the direction of the outpost. Nancy tried to keep up with her.

"What was all that about?"

"She's not here, the cell is empty."

"What?" Nancy said stopping on her tracks, her eyes wide and her hands over her chest. The doors of the ward opened and Charley went through. The nurse walked over the wall where there was a small panel cased behind glass. She opened the panel and pressed the large red button inside. Loud, screeching alarms started to sound through the entire ward and Nancy was promptly surrounded by guards.

Charley by herself was able to pass the security posts before the alarms went off. She walked very fast, passing guards and orderlies that were heading to the source of the alarm. Nobody was noticing her in that commotion. She finally reached the laundry room that was still empty and using her secret access door she left the building.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gotham Museum of Natural History.

"Is she still breathing? You don't think I killed her, do you? She can't die yet." Joker said pacing nervously around the large totem in the exhibit, combing his green wet hair with his hands; his coat still dripping water over the fake grass. Jake and Elliott were tying a woman, dressed up in tight black leather bodysuit to the large monument with some electric cable.

"She's still breathing, Boss, but she's pretty beat up. Those grenades are way too powerful to use indoors." Elliott said securing the last knot. Joker pushed Elliott angrily out of his way and came close to the woman's face waving a hand in front of her face. Jake stood by Elliot, eyeing the Boss with some concern.

"Yoo-hoo! Hello, anybody home?" He lifted the woman's face and removed the short,wavy black hair that was covered with some dust, away from her face. He patted her several times not obtaining a response. Joker let out an indignant grunt while he finally slapped her forcefully and looked closer into her eyes. They fluttered and slowly opened; first thing she saw was the white grinning face. The woman growl, hissed, and spit in the Joker's face, making the Clown back off in disgust. Jake grabbed the Clown Prince before he would stumble to the floor.

"You'll regret that, bitch," said the large man in the dark suit grabbing the woman by the neck and pressing her hard against the totem. The woman started to gasp for air. Joker set a hand on the constricting arm.

"Release her, Elliott. She's my toy; and I can break my own toys, thank you very much!" The Clown Prince said cleaning his face with a bright yellow handkerchief. The large thug unhanded the woman who started to pant and cough violently, the color on her face returning to the soft ivory cream texture that was usual. Joker put the handkerchief away and giggled maliciously. "Selina Kyle. Always the same presumptuous, ill-tempered queen I remembered. It's nice to see you too, dear. Look what I'm willing to do for you… take a shower…with my clothes on it seems. Am I crazy for you or what?" The Clown Prince started to laugh hysterically as he wrung his coat and set it on one of the fake tree branches of the exhibit. He combed his green wet hair back with his hand again and batched his eyes at the restrained woman.

"And you're the same egotistical, self-centered son of a bitch I know, with loose screws on your head and all."What are you doing here, clown?"

"Me? Just getting a new hobby…gem collecting. Killing innocent people was becoming so dull, you know…What about you?" Joker faking a sad face, put a hand on the totem above her head and whispered close to her ear. "Are diamonds still your best friends or are you just spying for your nocturnal boyfriend?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Selina hissed at him.

"You don't know what I'm talking about…now that's funny." Joker bit a gloved finger and smiled maliciously. "I know who your boyfriend is, Selina baby. Tall, handsome half man, half bat, all testosterone." Joker sighed and beamed with joy. "Ahhh, love is indeed blind…blind as a Bat."

"Are you going through one of your psychotic phases, Joker…? I came here for the auctioned gems." Selina fought against her restraints. "Same as you."

"I have a crystal ball at home but, if you don't mind my asking, Selina…how did you find out they were here already?"

"You're not the only one with resources, Clown. I make it my business to know." Selina shook her restraints. She could feel the cable cutting on her wrists. "Do you have any idea how much those gems are worth? There's enough for both of us. Maybe we can cut a deal." Joker looked at Elliot and Jake who in exchange smiled back.

"Didn't know you had turned to the dark side again, Selina." Joker looked at the bound woman in deep brooding. "Hm. No deal, darling. That's not how we play. I got here first, so I get them first. Since I was a child, I've never been good at sharing anything and I had promised those to someone very especial to me…repaying a big favor." Joker stood in front of Selina, very still, his hands clasped behind him.

"Joker this is not fair. It'll be better if we work together…there's enough for both."

"Life is not fair, Ms. Kyle…and nobody better than me to tell you that. I mean, just look at me, and you'll understand what I mean. About working together…" Joker shook his head softly. "I don't see that happening. I don't like cats…they give me allergies." Joker smiled wide.

"Jerk." Selina hissed.

"Bitch." Joker riposted as he started to giggle. "It's been a long night, Ms. Kyle…and I haven't been getting any fun lately. Like you said…I'm going though one of my crises. You know me…I get easily bored if someone is not dying and then you just drop in as if God sent…well, you really fell from the ceiling…didn't know cats could walk on ceilings." Joker continued giggling maliciously and rubbed his gloved hands together. "I was itching for some real live entertainment, of the deadly kind." His giggles turned into chortles.

"I don't know what crazy ideas you're getting, but untie me, clown, and I'll give you a free performance." Joker slapped her forcefully. Her bottom lip opened and started to bleed.

"SHUT UP, BITCH! I'M THE ONE WHO MAKES JOKES AROUND HERE." A large toothy smile appeared on the Clown's face while his eyes softened to an almost paternal look. He wagged an index finger in front of her. "You have the sense of humor of a dodo, dear, and you don't see any around, do you? I'll show real comedy and the title of tonight's episode: _The Last Purr of the Catwoman_. It's gonna be a killer." YES, YES!!Joker let out a loud chortle. "And let me tell you…Batsy is gonna looove this episode…especially the ending…it's gonna bring chills down his spine." I FEEL GOOD! Joker let out a loud cackle, followed by a guffaw so shrilling as only the Clown Prince could laugh and he produced a large army knife from one of the sleeves of his shirt. Selina looked at him, obvious terror glowing in her eyes as she saw her reflection in the sharp blade. The Clown was going to get the gems, and she was helplessly tied to a post. Why does he have to do this..? Selina answered her own question and swallowed hard…because the Joker loved murder.

"Joker please…" Catwoman implored but she felt she was talking to a wall…a grinning wall made up of pure hate and violence. Her heart skipped a bit.

READY, JACK…LIGHTS, CAMERA…ACTION… THIS IS GOING TO BE MY OSCAR PERFORMANCE. It was so good to feel the joke again. "You know, Selina. My dad never let me do it, but I always wanted to carve the bird on Thanksgiving…I think I'll have to settle to carve the cat tonight. Don't worry; I have a master's degree on carving cats."

"Y-you are crazy." Catwoman said with a shudder. Elliot smiled softly at the boss while Jake stared at Joker on disbelief.

"Not crazy, dear…totally out of my mind. That's the new me. I'm a riot, right Jack?" He admired the blade intently, the metal glinting from the light of the emergency lamps above. He lifted his head and closed his eyes as if concentrating. "I thank you Lord for the meat, the clown, and the joke." He giggled. "And I also thank you for the dead children, the raped nuns and mangled puppies…oh, and don't forget the hole in the ozone layer. Amen." Joker focused on her and started to laugh maniacally as he started to advance towards Catwoman. "Heeere kitty, kitty, kitty."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was way past 1.00 a.m. and Robin was doing way over the speed limit on the highway. He knew it was risky, but he wanted to arrive at the Docks as soon as possible. Batman had not called with an update like he promised, which could only mean one of two things: Either he was too busy taking care of business or he was in serious trouble and couldn't reach his communicator. Batman would be needing help either way, and Robin would do anything he could to get there in time to lend a hand, even if it meant infringement of the speed limit. Batman will understand.

If only people were as careful as he was while driving at these high speeds. This gray van had been too close to his trail for a good ten minutes now since he left downtown, and it wasn't giving him any breathing space. Why? It wasn't like the lanes were full. Actually the highway was pretty empty at this time of the night. Some people are just plain rude. Tim finally decided to leave the lane all to the driver that seemed very impatient to cruise at the speed of light. The van slowly caught up with him and started to pass him. Good riddance—Tim thought concentrated in the road ahead. The van passed very close to Tim's bike and the passenger window in the van opened revealing a ghostly white face with a large smile looking at him. Tim didn't see the gun, it was very dark and he was too focused in that sinister smile to see anything else. BLAM! BLAM! God! It happened so fast. Robin lost control over the motorcycle and started to spin on the highway while he heard the words "bye, bye, Birdie," followed by that crazy laughter. A moment later, he had lost his bike and was rolling in the pavement and then in the grass by the side of the road when everything turned suddenly black and silent.


	18. Loosing the Touch

Author's note: To all of you leaving your feedback...THANK YOU. It means a lot for me. And those just reading, keep reading but I would be thrilled to hear from you and your opinions on the story so far. To all my writing (and reading) friends goes this next chapter. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS

Disclaimer 2: Some chapters presents MATURE SITUATIONS and MATURE LANGUAGE. Reader discretion is adviced

CHAPTER 18: LOOSING THE TOUCH

The gang entered the subterranean hideout with lightened spirits and laughter. Half of them were recounting the happenings at the museum to the ones that stayed behind while the other half were making plans with the money they were going to obtain after selling the gems. Joker was the last one to enter, his cream colored shirt stained in blood, carrying his suit and hat in one arm. His green hair had started to dry out, curling at his neck and the line above his eyes.

Even with his lips pulled in that hideous grimace of a smile it was obvious that the Joker was not really smiling. Instead, his face was somber and even his white complexion seemed to have darkened with his mood. He threw the suit and the hat on the large sofa and walked over to the small fridge in the corner from which he took a water bottle.

"Congratulations, sir. Operation Gem Drop was a total success." said Blip approaching from behind. Joker opened the bottle and took a sip.

"Hmf."

"Is… something bothering you, sir?" Michael asked gingerly, not sure if he really wanted to know.

Joker turned to look at Michael, letting out a deep sigh. "You know what happened in the museum, right?" Blip nodded, attentive at every word from the Boss. "Then tell me how the hell did that happen?" Joker cleaned his mouth on his sleeve, and then waved the bottle emphatically in front of him. "Everything was going so well, then and…WHAM! The pain, the burden of sanity and this voice inside my head… is that my conscience? Why did I have to do something so stupid…why can't I just let go, do what I've always done…and why wouldn't that voice just shut the fuck up."

"I… don't … understand…" said Blip unsure if this was a rhetorical question or the boss was actually wanted an answer to that question. He had no clue as to what Joker was talking about. He wanted to look intelligent but then realized that he was standing there with his mouth wide open. Joker ignored him and took another sip from the bottle and cleaned his chin with his hand.

"I just let him loose once, Blip, once. The clown, killing people just for the fun of it. He wasn't supposed to… but the cat and the bird in one night… irresistible," Joker said with a slight shudder remembering the events that had taken place that night. He had mixed emotions but joy still was strong. "Delicious… and what were the odds of doing both in one night? But now…now I'm sorry I did what I did. Why?" Michael shook his head. "I don't know either…killing people used to make me feel so good…even before the clown came on board. I hate feeling like this. It's like half-baked cupcakes…they might look good on the outside but taste like shit…like the taste of murder in my mouth right now…" Joker gulped some of the bottled water.

"I'm not sure I follow your line of thought…" Michael said running a nervous hand over his brow. "Wasn't that part of the original plan, you know, to mess up with them pigs?"

"I'm not thinking, Blip, that's the whole problem." Joker snapped back, the tone in his voice denoting anger and an annoyed face. "I am feeling…things I have not felt on a long time…and I don't like how they feel and I don't want to feel them anymore. And they're starting to interfere with what I do."

"Maybe that worked for the best…you know, boss? When the Batman sees her like that is gonna be a shocker. I know it was when you did it." Blip said reassuringly as he put both hands in his pockets. "What is it you always say…when doing art…just follow your gut instinct. Maybe that's what you did." The hacker noticed the boss' stare with a childish sparkle in his eyes. It was like watching a kid get his first bike. Joker was smiling wide.

"Oh, Blip…"Joker beamed with joy. "You always say the sweetest things…" The kid was finally understanding the basics of good comedy, and becoming more like him. He patted Blip tenderly on his shoulder. That is what the world needed… more Jokers spreading joy and mayhem into the world. The boss filled with pride, his little baby was growing up so quickly…"but…WHY THE FUCK DID I HAVE TO CALL THEM????"

"Boss, we need to talk." Charley said gravely as she approached them.

"Did she suffer?" Joker said as he greeted her affectionately with the water bottle, his lips forced down into a sad expression. No success, he was still smiling, but it was the intention that counted. _PLEASE TELL US SHE DID…_

"There was a problem with the mission." Joker frowned but Charley went on. "She… was not there."

Joker lowered his face, and closed his eyes as if concentrating. "Not there as in…?"

"I think she escaped" Charley gingerly said getting ready for the anger the Boss was going to lash at her_. Krakatoa is just a firecracker_…she remember he had said…this was going to be bad.

Joker just looked at her, a wide smile appeared on his face and he started to walk towards his office giggling uncontrollably. "Oh Harley, Harley, aren't you full of surprises, my sweet harlequin."

Charley stared at Michael who simply shrugged and then followed Joker into his office. "Did you just hear what I said? Harley escaped from the Asylum."

"Yes, I heard you. I'm crazy, not deaf." Joker reclined against his desk and with his hand, undid his hair that until now was neatly combed backwards. Green curls quickly took their place on top of his head. "Do you wanna know what I did today, Princess? I think I outdid myself tonight. Two for the prize of one and they were alll free and it was a work of art! And…"

"Harlequin, we are talking about Dr. Harleen Quinzel here. She escaped, and if you were right and she's working with the Batman…"

"You know, I've been thinking this thoroughly…" the boss said absentmindedly taking another sip from the bottle. "There's a big difference between meeting with the Batman once or twice and escaping with the flying rat. Not Harley's style. Now, back to me and my artistic genius…"

"Fuck your genius, Mr. Joker!" Charley lashed at the Boss. The Clown looked at her with obvious resent on his eyes, like a brush fire that had just ignited She knew talking to this man like this was dangerous, but he could be so exasperating at times..."How can you be so sure? You're the one who let her to rot in the asylum while you enjoyed sweet freedom, remember? That was not very nice."

"You're make me look like I'm a villain or something, girl. I'm not a bad person…I'm just more important, that's all. Still, that's not her style. I know that clown…she was just using the bat." Joker glared angrily to his second in command. "One more thing…don't use that type of language with me…I'm in a lousy mood as it is; and when I'm in a lousy mood…I kill people…very slowly…very painfully."

Charley sneered contemptuously. She didn't appreciate being threatened. "But she might be heading this way now for all we know and you don't seem to care."

Joker finished the water bottle. "Ohh, I care… but no. She's not coming. She doesn't know about this place, I had it years before I met her and I never told her. A man has to keep his little secrets, especially if he knows the relationship is not working out, you know? She'll probably try to find me though; it's a matter of time. Maybe she's mad, and may even try to kill me." Joker shrugged shyly. "Now, that'll be funny. They couldn't get the Joker to the hot chair but the Clown could die at the hands of a disgruntled girlfriend. " Joker wrapped his hand around his neck and faked being choked violently, then smiled perversely at Charley.

There was a knock at the door in Joker's office and Milton appeared through the door holding a rather heavy black velvety bag. "Boss, your share from the museum." He looked from Joker to Charley, who was looking resentfully at the boss, and then back to Joker. He realized that the atmosphere was tense and heated and that this was not a good moment to interrupt. "Maybe I shall come back later…"

"No, it's OK, Milton. Let me have it." The henchman threw the bag at Joker and quickly disappeared behind the closed door without another word. Joker put a hand inside the bag and extracted a handful of small stones, of all imaginable colors and shapes that glinted against the lights of his office.

"This is an unexpected problem. We can't have this loose cannon running around, risking everything we have been working so hard to achieve." Charley said pacing the office anxiously. "I was ready to kill her…the little bitch…I was this close…" The Boss walked over to the desk where he opened a drawer and extracted a small brown cloth bag where he poured some of the gems from black one.

IT'S MY LITTLE BITCH, YOU BITCH!! Joker let out a cackle. "She's not a problem that I can't fix, Princess. Told you she was mine from the beginning and fate is proving me right. Here." Joker handed the black downy bag to Charley. "I now just need some space to continue my holy mission…at any cost."

Charley weighed the bag in her hand; it felt heavy. She took a look inside where a large handful of tiny gems of many colors sparkled back at her. She smiled and turned back to the Clown Prince. "What you want me to do now?"

Joker drew the string on the cloth bag in his hand and set it beside him on the table. "For the moment you and your feline friends keep your eyes open. The program has slightly changed and I need creative space to redesign the next step of our plan. Keep the Bat and the Harlequin away from Leopard airspace…at least for a little longer. That," Joker pointed to the bag in Charley's hand. "…is your piece of the pie for the Arkham adventure. You did not complete the plan we outlined for you but I'll give you a B for effort. I'm offering you partial payment as reward because I have to admit…I'm impressed."

"You didn't think I was going to make it out of the Asylum, did you?" Charley said with a half smile. She had proven this Clown that she was the best of the best many times before; now his comment bothered her.

"Not really." Joker jumped up to seat on top of his desk and crossed his legs. "How many people you know that can fool Arkham security that easy?"

"It was risky… They could have captured me, you know."

"True, but you proved me wrong. Because you are so good..." The Boss smiled with elation, but Charley gave Joker a resentful stare. "What?"

"What would've you have done if they captured me, Mr. J?"

"If you need to know…I'd put an ad for your position on the classifieds of the Sunday paper." Joker shrugged and smiled wildly but Charley just looked like she wanted to murder someone. The Clown felt really uncomfortable with such a stare. "OK, OK. I would have gotten you out of the mess. When I adopted you and your cattery I made a promise, didn't I? Jeez, you can't take a joke. Now…do you want to know what I did today..?"

"And what about those gems in the bag? Thought you didn't like precious stones?"

Joker picked up the bag by his side and opened it pouring a few of the jewels on his gloved hand. He lifted the bag with the jewels. "This little trinkets? I don't. But maybe you would like extra credits for you and your little pack of felines for keeping me safe from my hateful girlfriend. This on the other hand…" Joker lifted the hand holding the stones. "...is in case she finds me and I have to buy back her love…" The Boss put the handful of stones on his pocket and set the bag down in the drawer at the desk. "Diamonds and sapphires have always been her favorite and women it seems, will die for diamonds these days…just ask Selina…." Joker laughed loudly.

* * *

Please feel free to share your opinions about the story, there is always room for improvement and adding to the story. Thanks a million. Isabel 


	19. Scene of the Crime

_Author's note: It's my B-day and instead of waiting for presents, I decided to give away something. Instead of posting chapters with a dropper like I've been doing...you'll have two whole consecutive chapters. There are no words to say thank you for the positive feedback many of you out there are sharing with me, I'm so glad you guys like the story. Heard some concerns about plot...but fear not. Just remember, this story is not part of the Batman continuity (But sometimes I would like to see a more realistic Joker being written. oh well). Here is the first of two long chapters, please enjoy and feel free to drop a note or two, even if it is criticism. This is my first story ever...and there is always room for improvement._

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and all releted characters are property of DC Comics_

_Disclaimer 2: Some chapters include MATURE LANGUAGE and MATURE SITUATIONS so reader discretion is adviced._

**CHAPTER 19: THE SCENE OF THE CRIME**

3:35 am. The museum lights were still off and thhe police had set a series of emergency lamps along with their generators all around the main floor for the forensic crews to work, The powerful lamps illuminated the whole scene with an intense glow that resembled sunlight. Four body bags laid on the floor under the central vault; each one with a small plastic bag containing ID cards and personal belongings of the diseased. Gordon was holding a small bag containing the remains of what seemed metal shrapnel mixed with part of the museum's masonry when he saw Batman arrive at the scene. The costumed Detective was speeding between the GCPD officers and coroner's personnel like a black bullet.

"Where is she?" The caped crusader said gravely.

"They'd rush her to the Gotham Presbyterian Hospital." Jim Gordon could feel the blue eyes behind the cowl piercing him like daggers. "She had lost a lot of blood and was barely breathing when we found her; even arrested once in transit… I'm sorry."

The cowled man remained silent. The leather of his gloves could be heard stretching inside the tense clenched fists under his cape. Someone had brutally attacked Selina Kyle, left her to die while they lured him miles away from the museum making sure he could not do anything to save her. On top of all this, he had not heard from Robin since the night before in the alley. The kid was impulsive, but he would not do anything without leaving a hint for Batman to follow. That was standard protocol, and why couldn't he locate Robin's bike? Like the Batmobile, the bike was equipped with its own tracking and global positioning systems. It was as if the boy wonder and its bike vanished into thin air. He did not like to think of the possibilities.

"What did they steal?"

Commissioner Gordon looked quickly through the notes he had gathered in his case notebook. "There was a gem collection worth over twenty million dollars to be auctioned in a few days. The museum thought that if they kept the delivery under wraps nobody would know the gems were already here, but when the thieves entered they went directly to the museum's vault were they were keeping them. They knew what they were looking for."

"What happened to the security system in the museum?" Batman said looking up at the surveillance cameras on the ceiling. "Wasn't it supposed to be state of the art?"

"That was until last night. It was very a well planned robbery. The building was completely isolated from the alarm system, the fire department and the city's energy grid. I didn't even know you could do that. Even the sprinklers went off and nobody knew until we arrived and noticed everything was wet. They entered through the skylights, killed all four security guards and went for the gems. They opened the vault using a fancy decoder to override the electronic locks.

"Do you have a copy of the surveillance video?"

"There's no video. When they entered the security system they took control of all surveillance equipment, including the cameras which are still off line and they took the tapes before they left. There is no recording of actual robbery. There appeared to have been a loud explosion in the Native American exhibit that took part of the wallboard down and then someone called 911 afterwards to report the robbery." Gordon looked at his notebook again. "When the police arrived they found Selina, tied with electrical cable to the totem in the Native American exhibit and it seems they had her time with her, they slashed her face, her arms…it was bloody. They even carved something on her back… She had already lost a lot of blood by the time we found her."

"What did they carve on her back, Commissioner?" Batman asked almost to a growl. Gordon remained silent absentmindedly sifting through the pages of his pocket notebook. "Jim?"

Gordon cleared his throat. Batman was looking at him intensely. He could feel those two piercing blue eyes cutting at him like a surgical knife and he knew that holding information was not going to serve any real purpose. The Dark Detective will find out the information one way or the other. "HA, HA."

Batman didn't move, but his eyes glinted as if tears were welling on them. Gordon understood how difficult this was for the Detective. Batman spoke slowly and calmly, his voice raspy. "This was a very sophisticated operation indeed, something a good hacker will be able to pull through with the right equipment to back him up."

"Garibaldi?"

"Yes, Garibaldi, and even though I think that the attack on Selina was too violent even for Joker, I think that the Clown is behind this one. Did the robbers left anything behind when they left?" finally interloped the Caped Crusader.

"You could say that." Gordon walked over to a tall black officer who was carrying a few plastic bags with evidence in his gloved hands "Ron, you still have that evidence from the vault?" The officer handed the Commissioner a clear bag with a deck of cards inside.

"I knew it...Joker" Batman growled angrily.

"That's what we thought at first, but look at the cards. There's not a single Joker in this deck. Just your regular cards." Batman checked the cards through the bag.

"Not his usual sense of humor, but this is not his type of violence either. Something doesn't fit in this crime."

"Why didn't he use his personal calling card? After all he's obsessed with his own image, isn't he?"

"I don't know, yet." Batman tried to focus on the cards. They were an important piece of evidence but he could not keep his attention for too long. What was that clown trying to do? What did the cards mean? And how could he concentrate in the investigation when all that was in his mind were Selina and Tim?

"You OK?" asked Gordon who almost felt compelled to set a hand on his friend's shoulder. This must be one of the most difficult moments in the Dark Knight's crime fighting career.

"I'll be fine, Jim. I need to do this. You said someone called 911?"

"Yes, the call said someone had robbed the museum and probably killed a cat inside. Actually, if we hadn't received the call, I don't think we would have found Selina in time.

"Could you identify the voice?"

"No, a deep male voice; and we don't have the voice on record and they called from the museum's pay phone."

"Fingerprints, DNA..?"

"The boys from Forensics are working on it."

"I think somebody set me up, Commissioner. Drew me away from downtown to have the night available for the robbery." Batman opened the communication link in his cowl. "Oracle, do you hear me?" said Batman walking into the Native American exhibit, Gordon followed. In the far corner, a group of officers stood by a large totem that showed obvious cuts and blood stains on its surface. They had marked a small perimeter around the totem with bright yellow police tape. More blood stains and splatters were visible on the floor.

"Loud and clear." A familiar voice answered through the headphones.

"The members of Garrison and Black Tom's gangs arrested last night were just a decoy to keep me away from the museum robbery. I'll send Nightwing to interview them, and I need you to…"

"That will be very difficult. They were released on bail a few hours ago." Damn! That was too convenient and the timing impeccable. 

"Find out who paid for the bonds and the account it was paid from. We might have a link to them and the museum robbery."

"Er…Batman." Gordon said, after talking to one of the police officers on site, not sure how to start the next sentence. The Caped crusader knew this was not going to be good news. He felt his heart skip a beat.

"Selina…" 

"No. They found… Robin. He was unconscious lying by the expressway a few minutes ago and they rushed him to the Gotham Central Hospital. He had an accident in his bike. It looks really bad."

"Jim…"

"My boys can continue gathering the evidence, Robin needs you. Go, I'll keep you informed."

Batman left the museum with no further words. He was not good with emotions anyway, much less with words. That's how the Batman operated. No words; just think and act; quick and effective, and Gordon understood that. Words and emotions could interfere with his crusade against the Gotham scum. If you don't feel, you could not get hurt, and the decisions could be made objectively, more efficiently. If you don't talk, you don't give the thugs any advantage to use for their advantage.

Now his brain was in no shape to think of anything else other than Tim and Selina, two innocent victims of the violence in Gotham and Batman couldn't stand it anymore. This couldn't happen to him…again. First it was Jason Todd...was he going to loose Tim too? No. He wasn't going to let that happen. And Selina… part of his heart was already gone with her. Like someone had taken his heart out of his chest and disposed of it...it left him hollow. He was in no shape to investigate anything, his mind was far, far, away; he was only human for God's sake!

The evidence will need to wait. This case was taking too much time and was consuming his entire life; even his closed ones were starting to suffer now. How much could he take? He wasn't able to be with them when they needed him most, and he wondered if he could have prevented this from happening at all. He didn't know and probably will never know, but he still couldn't help feeling responsible. Joker was probably involved in the museum robbery, though he had no proof, and his inability to stop the Clown, had resulted on Selina's attack. Tim…well driving late at night in a city filled with the worst type of criminals…how can accidents not happen? Still, he thought that both incidents were related somehow... He pressed the accelerator all the way… if he could only be where he was most needed in time…

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was close to 4 a.m. in the morning and Blip took a moment to open the chat room site and noticed three of his chat buddies were already on line. He typed his password and ID and entered the chat room.

SPYDER99: "Hey, handsome, URL8. Was wondering if you were surfing tonight."

BLIP1970: "I know. Had to do some things first. It's been a busy few days."

TUCKER10: "Your boss doesn't even let you out on the weekends? BMR!"

BLIP1970: "Don't complain. $ is good and I get to do a lot of interesting things."

SPYDER99: "What RU working on now?"

BLIP1970: "Can't tell. Company policy. But it's big. You'll see it in the news soon."

CYBERgrl: "OMG!! The suspense is killing me!!! My boyfriend is going to be famous."

BLIP1970: "Hey cyber…HH, very funny. No more clowning around PLZ! I had enough."

SPYDER99: "Aren't U touchy…."

BLIP1970: "Sorry, just tired. Could any of U get me the information on AI I asked?"

CYBERgrl: "What U asked was way too advanced for me…so I asked a friend."

BLIP1970: "Well?"

CYBERgrl: "In theory it could be done…but…why would you want to do that, Blip? You'll loose what makes you unique, your individuality. "

BLIP1970: "Just fun, what else?"

SPYDER99: "U have a weird sense of humor, Blip." Michael smiled. No he didn't have a weird sense of humor, his boss did. After all this was his idea.

BLIP1970: "Aw, come on, Spyder... what harm can another me cause. Just imagine…double the guy, double the joy…hmm?"

CYBERgirl: "U dirty little…Still think it's kind of crazy."

BLIP1970: "…and U guys r reading too much Sci-Fi lately."

TUCKER10: "Hey, that requires tons of $$...U didn't have anything to do with the account numbers stolen from BOA, did U?"

BLIP1970: "NW! But I know who did that…"

HRLQ has entered chat room…

HRLQ: "How're U doing Blip?"

Blip looked at the screen. He didn't know anybody with that screen name but just maybe…

BLIP1970: "Do I know U?"

HRLQ: "'Course U do, chubby. Is Mr. J with U?? Need to talk to him." Blipped looked around nervously. This was not something he was looking for….

BLIP1970: "Harl? How did U..?"

HRLQ: "Doesn't matter how I found U… Where is my puddin' Blip. Tell 'im I want to talk to 'im."

SPYDER99: "Hey HRLQ…you mind? We R having a nice time here."

BLIP1970: "Spyder…no…" Michael wished he could type faster…

HRLQ: "Listen sistah, this is something between 4Eyes and me so MYOB."

TUCKER10: Bitch, I'm the moderator of this chat room, and I will not tolerate…"

HRLQ: "I don't care who U R Tuck-Tuck so drop dead, OK??!…Blip, please tell me where is he? I need to talk to him, NOW!"

CYBERgrl: "Blip, if U keep talking to this bitch I'm out of here."

BLIP1970: "Harl, please. Don't know where is he, I swear. Now, leave the chat room, please." Michael said not able to help feeling he was the size of a microbe. This was too much violence in a tiny screen monitor…he just wanted to have some fun with his chat buddies tonight, not an indiscriminate use of verbal warfare…

HRLQ: "Oh no, not until U answer me…U know how hard it's been trying to find U, guys? I could think U don't want me around or somethin'…is that it? You don't want me around anymore?"

BLIP1970: "It's not me… it's him." Michael bit his lip…he shouldn't be messing in the Joker's private affairs.

HRLQ: "I knew it, something's wrong. Please tell me he's OK, Blip. Did anything happen to him?"

BLIP1970: "He's…OK," Blip typed making a pause. He would hardly call the Boss' latest behavioral dysfunctions OK, but he was not psychiatrist. What would he know? The only thing that he knew is that he had to keep Harley away from him and the Boss at all cost. "I told you, he's not here, and it will be better if U leave."

CYBERgrl has left the chat room…

HRLQ: "What's wrong…what are U hiding from me? Blip, if I find U…I swear…it's not gonna be pretty." Blip swallowed hard and took a long look around the room before answering. How couldn't he tell her that the Boss had put a price on her head…she couldn't take that kind of news. _Come on Harley, get a hint_…Michael thought as he typed.

BLIP1970: "I'm not hiding anything, Harl. It's just that…maybe you're better off by yourself now. Don't know…take some TO." Blip didn't believe what he was saying, but he didn't want to see any more violence around him and if the Boss finds out he was talking to Harley…or even worse…if Harley decided to show up…all Hell was going to break loose. The Boss' next tantrum could be deadly.

HRLQ: "UR keeping something from me, I can smell it… How could U say something like that? There's something really wrong here and I need to know…did he say anything?"

SPYDER99: "Hey lady…leave now or I'm gonna report U."

HRLQ: "Shut up, Spyderbitch…or I'm gonna blow your head off! Don't see I'm going thru a crisis here? Blip, please tell me where are U located? Need TT to puddin'. The rodent said U R in the Northeaster part of the city…but that's impossible. Right?"

Rodent..? Batman told her? They were indeed very close to Northeast Gotham, but the flying rat was even closer to them than he suspected. The Boss needed to know, but why would the Batman have told her…could she be working with the Detective? This was getting very complicated. Not good, not good at all…especially when he tells the boss where he got the information from. Maybe that was a detail the Boss didn't have to know about…"

BLIP1970: "No. I'm not on the Northeast, and I told U… haven't seen him in a while. I'm all by myself." That will stop her interest on meeting with the Joker right now.

HRLQ: "U fat lying SOB I know you're with him…how can you not be with him…Why R U doing this to me?! I'm gonna bust your head open…like a melon, Blip." Hmmm, maybe not. Time to make something up very fast.

TUCKER10: "Blip, do something…"

Michael was about to type something when he heard a noise behind him. The door clicked and the Joker appeared in a pair of brown Bermuda pants, a green Hawaiian shirt, and moccasins with no socks. In his face he was wearing a pair of round frame purple tinted glasses.

BLIP1970: "CTN G2G" Michael closed the chat room and all windows he was using in the computer.

"Did I interrupt anything important?"

"N-no. It's just that y-you startled me…wasn't expecting you this late."

Joker looked at his watch and eyed Michael suspiciously from above the sunglasses' metal rim. "I wouldn't have startled you if you weren't doing something you were not supposed to." Joker was now glaring intensely at Blip. "What do you do when I'm not around, boy?"

"Nuthin', Mr. J… I swear, I swear… I was just… surfing the net, you know, gathering info for you and your plans. It's nothing really, nothing…" Blip was now close to hysterical. Joker came close to Michael's face, setting both hands on Michael's chair armrests, and staring directly into his eyes. Small rivulets of sweat started to form in Michael's forehead. Joker giggled softly.

"Hey…calm down, boy. I was just kidding. If you want to continue surfing porn websites, be my guest. I won't tell your mother…" Joker smiled wide.

WAIT UNTIL I CHECK YOUR CYBER NANNY, BLIP… PORN OK, ANYTHING ELSE AND YOU'RE ONE DEAD NERD….

"Ha, funny, sir. Very funny." Blip wiped his forehead. "I knew you wouldn't mind if…I had some fun. It's kind of boring to just work, work and work."

"Yess, all business and no fun. Poor Blip." YEAH…SURE…ICE THE NERD, JACK …MAKE HIS SYSTEMS CRASH…HA, HA." Joker's green eyes were staring at him intensely. Michael felt like he was being cut by a sharp blade by those piercing forest green eyes. And that smile…that was a large smile, but Michael was not sure that was a happy smile. He swallowed hard.

"W-what is it you wanted…sir?"

"The clown and I have been chatting and we had an epiphany, Blip."

"We?" Michael looked at Joker suspiciously. These days it seemed he had been talking to two different people and now the Boss was speaking of himself as two persons. Creepy, but none of his business. "A revelation you said, huh? Shoot away." Joker gave him another intense look and that smile carved in his face seemed to extend even wider. His eyes almost said '_do you really want me to do that..?_' "I mean…"

Joker lifted a gloved hand in between them then rose back from the chair. "I'm gonna start messing with this city's brain. I'm gonna drive them nuts. Just like me."

"Excuse me?"

"I need to crack into the city's emergency grid…then there's this event I wanna go to at the Arena…"

"That's going to need some cash." Blip typed something on the screen and a large plan of the Arena appeared on his screen. He could still feel the Joker's eyes on the back of his head. "The Arena has been remodeled and the security has been revamped. I will need some very sophisticated equipment to get into the network and some people to install it. What do you have planned?"

"Something big, something memorable." Blip new that those words meant someone would die and with the boss, that was happening quite often. The Clown giggled happily. "Like I always do."

"Boss, there's going to be a lot of people in that Arena," said Blip checking a diagram of the Davenport Building. Joker knelt behind Michael and peered at the screen with a wide smile on his face and bit his index finger softly.

"I know, wouldn't it be fun?" Joker giggled louder.

"Depending on what you want to do."

"First, I don't want the pigs to interfere with my fun…we'll have to fix that." The Clown Prince stood still for a moment tapping his chin and brooding deeply. "I know…Maybe we can lay one of our Easter Eggs on the network…" There was that malicious smile again. "Like a field test, you know?"

"The Worm I've been working on is a self contained program. Once it's dropped it can't be modified; it then replicates and does what it was programmed to do, so you can't change the program at whim. It has to be that way because if it gets discovered, you don't want them to trace it back to you."

"I know, like a bad case of ebola…and that will work perfectly." Joker giggled. "But we still need to spoof the security of the network, but with what..?" Joker scratched his head. "Did you ever play retro video games…Atari, Sega..?"

Michael stared at the Boss with a crooked eyebrow and a quizzical look…this was going to be interesting.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

GOTHAM CENTRAL HOSPITAL 

The hospital was full, and both doctors and nurses were hurrying down the halls trying to take care of as many patients as possible. In the waiting room, people sat, some of them moaning, some others sleeping and there were a few mothers with their children between their arms When Batman entered the emergency room, silence ensued and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Looking around he walked over the information counter aware of the tens of eyes following him through the room.

"You received Robin a few hours ago." Batman made a short pause, even talking about it felt unreal. "Can I see him?"

One of the nurses at the counter rushed through the patient list. The rest of the hospital staff couldn't take their eyes from the dark figure in front ot the information desk. Behind him the Detective could hear oohs, and ahhs, along with gossiping voices of the patients waiting to be tended to. "I'm sorry, but he is in intensive care. We can't allow…"

"Hello detective," said a familiar voice behind him. Batman turned to see a doctor coming closer to meet him at the desk. Batman recognized him. He and Bruce Wayne have assisted to the same college together. "My name is Dr. Howard Ferguson, how can we help you tonight?"

"Robin was brought in this morning." Batman said and Dr. Ferguson looked at the nurse at the desk.

"The kid is in intensive care unit, doctor," interloped the nurse. "No visitors."

"Yes, I know, but this is no regular visitor, nurse," said Ferguson with a smile setting a friendly hand over the Crusader's shoulder. "He's the Batman, the boy's family. Come with me detective. Cindy, you can write there that I authorized the visit under my direct supervision." Batman followed Dr. Ferguson down the hall and stopped in front of the ICU. "I don't know how much they told you, but the kid arrived in critical condition." Ferguson punched a code in the panel at the door.

"What happened?"

"We're not sure but from the report it seems to be a bad motorcycle accident. The police said that the bike was a mess." The door clicked and both entered the ward. "Robin presented with a severe concussion on the head, few broken ribs and a broken leg. He also has dislocated his right shoulder, and a great deal of road rash. It might not be pretty."

Ferguson guided Batman through a curtain to the bed where Robin laid unconscious hooked to fluids and a few machines, including an oxygen mask. Upon closer look, he could see that the boy had multiple scrapes and on the chest and arms and his skin look red and swollen. His left arm was encased in a cast up to the shoulder. The head was covered with a soft bandage that held in place a bundle of cables hooked to a machine above him. Batman's heart plummeted. This was his fault. Why did he have to drag a young kid like Tim to a life of danger and peril like this one? It was not fair. Batman walked closer almost holding his breath and noticed that Robin still had his black mask over his eyes. The right side of his face was bruised, and somewhat swollen.

"Thanks."

"Pardon me?" asked Dr. Ferguson looking at the readings in the machines.

"For leaving his mask. That was very kind."

"Hey, I know what the police say, but in our books you and that kid are heroes. That's the least we could do and it doesn't interfere with the treatment."

Batman nodded. "What are the possibilities of recovery?"

"We don't know for sure. He was luckily wearing his helmet when he had the accident, or otherwise we would be having this conversation in the morgue, but he still has to regain consciousness."

"Any permanent brain damage?"

"Difficult to assess at this time, but we are monitoring his brain pressure closely, and the CT scans show no gross damage to the internal structures of the brain. The rest is up him and it could take a few days before the brain starts recovering function."

"Give him anything he needs, doctor. It doesn't matter how expensive or how long. I have friends that are willing to help. Just take care of him."

"We will. And I'm betting on him, he's a strong kid."

Batman tried to extend a hand and touch Tim, as if to prove himself that this was nothing more than a bad dream, but he couldn't get himself to do it. It was too much and he was sure it was not a dream. He had to get away, for a while. Set his mind straight, in peace. He wasn't sure how but in his gut he felt that the robbery and Tim's accident were related somehow. They were separated that night by the events on the docks, someone had planned to have it that way, and in this lucky chance, stroke a blow to this partnership. Could it be Joker? His blood started to boil in his veins. That clown was starting to hurt anything that had a meaning in his life, and Joker seemed to be in a roll.

Why did he have to have a partner in the first place? He was the Batman and did not need to put anybody else in jeopardy but him. This was his crusade, not Tim's, not Dick's or Cassandra's. Too many people have already suffered because of him. First Todd and Barbara; now Tim and Selina. He had to stop the violence one way or the other before someone else got hurt. He left the hospital knowing that for now Tim was in the best hands possible, and there was nothing he could do to change the outcome; he could only wait. In the batmobile, the communicator beeped.

"Hey Bruce, it's Nightwing. You OK? I'm at the museum and Gordon told me what happened to Robin. Just wanted to say I'm sorry. If there's anything you need?"

"I want you out of this case." Batman answered dryly.

"What?"

"You heard me. There's too many people getting hurt, I don't want you to be next."

"Look, I know how you feel, but we are a team and I'm going to be fine. Together we'll crack the case and stop the violence. Joker is going back to Arkham, he likes it or not, but I need you to let me be part of this. The case is getting too complicated to have only one detective on it. Please, let me help."

Batman slammed the steering wheel angrily in frustration. He wanted to avoid more people from getting hurt but Dick was right. He couldn't be everywhere and this case was started to become too overwhelming for just one person, but he could not remove this feeling of guilt over his head that was oppressing him to the point of asphyxiation. He needed of Nightwing now, no questions about it. If only there was another way…

"OK, Join Gordon with the investigation. Remember…do not overlook the slightest detail. I need to run some errands but we'll talk in the cave tonight. Don't be late."

"Where are you going?"

"Talk to some people about the incident at the Docks. I need some answers."

"Understood. See you there." The connection dropped. He needed to call Alfred and let him know about Tim's accident. The man, who's been like a father for both him and the boy, deserved no less. Part of him also wanted to visit the Presbyterian to see Selina, but now that was out of the question. If he went, everybody will suspect that there was a connection between him and the Catwoman and that included the attacker who could use the information for his own purposes. He couldn't risk that now. Better to keep a distance, especially if he was not sure as for the circumstances of the attack. Still he needed to hear about her status, but who could he trust with such a delicate mission? Maybe Barbara could update him on her state.

He'll think about it. Now he had once again to focus, he needed some answers. Garrison and Dark Tom were involved in this scheme and he needed to find how deep. It had bee more than a coincidence that both gangsters decided to shoot each other the exact night and at exactly the same time that the museum was being raided. There had to be a connection and Batman was almost completely sure that the connection involved a murderous clown. That was really odd. Joker always worked alone, not precisely by choice, but more by need. Nobody would be crazy enough to risk their life dealing with a psychopathic murderer that had a reputation of killing people for the fun of it. It was just an unnecessary hassle because the Clown could turn on anybody at any time. Yet, if his suspicions were true, the Joker had managed to convince two of the most powerful Mafiosi in town to work alongside him. But the worst part of the whole investigation was the fact that even when the proof suggested this could be Joker's doing, the evidence was only circumstantial and highly unusual. The deck of cards with no Joker on it…the guffaw carved on Selina's back, and the unusual relationship between the incidents at the museum and the Docks They all spell the Joker's name but at the same time where so out of character of the Clown that anybody could argue in court that they have been committed by someone else. What other surprises did the Clown Prince of Crime had in storage for him? It didn't matter the cost, or the extent he had to go but he was going to get some answers tonight.

* * *

Here you have it, and for those that don't chat much (I'm probably the only dinosaur who doesn't...HH) here is a glossary of terms: **R** (are); **U** (you); **AI** (artificial intelligence) ; **URL8** (you are late); **OMG** (Oh my God); **HH** (ha, ha); **PLZ** (please); **TT** (talk to) ; **BMR** (bummer); (money, pay); **TO** (time off); **4Eyes** (four eyes); **MYOB** (mind your own bussiness); **SOB** (son of a bitch); **CTN** (can't talk now); **G2G** (got to go). Hope you liked the chapter...let me know. 


	20. Reflections

_Author's note: Here's the other chapter from my back to back posting. Hope you like it. Call me a sentimental, but this chapter is one of my special ones. I means a lot to me. Please review it..._

_Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer2: Some Chapter include MATURE SITUATIONS and MATURE LANGUAGE. Reader discretion is advised_.

**CHAPTER 20: REFLECTIONS**

It was about five in the afternoon when he arrive to Barbara Gordon's apartment. Nightwing entered the computer room and saw Barbara at the console going through some data. He cleared his throat and Barbara looked his way, smiling softly.

"How's it going, Babs?"

"OK. Good to see you, Dick."

"Just arrived from the museum. The toll is four security guards dead, almost twenty million dollars in precious stones stolen and a brutal attack on Selina Kyle. They beat her savagely and even carved her skin. It was bloody. Only a deck of cards was found in the vault."

"That's Joker's calling card."

"Suspicious I know, but there was no Joker in that deck of cards. Strange, don't you think?"

"It is, but I still can see him doing something like that; it's his style." Barbara closed her eyes when the memory of her own attack came back to her. "He's a monster who delights on causing pain and suffering, in any imaginable way…Why can't the nightmare end!!" The last words of her sentence cracked with obvious sorrow.

"Babs, you OK?" Dick said walking closer and kneeling beside her.

"Oh, Dick. It's just that anytime we put that monster behind bars, we think it's going to be for the last time, that he's not going to be able to get out ever again, and then, he manages to get out, just to start a new round of chaos and death. Why can't he stay locked up for good?"

"I understand how you feel, Barbara. Batman and I are working very hard to find that maniac before more people get hurt and with your help, we are going to do it." Dick put his hands on hers. "We will bring the Joker back to Arkham."

"That's my whole point, why even bring him back, Dick? His insanity is incurable." She grabbed a file from over her desk with the large letter J on the tab. "Sadistic, homicidal psychopath with delirious of grandeur and histrionic undertones. Obssessive compulsive personality with schizoid characteristics and it goes on. It's all in his file…including how many times they have tried to treat him without success. He will never get better. Why not just dispose of him permanently before he kills some more people?"

"You know the answer to that. You work in the same side of the law that we do and you know that pulling the plug on the Joker is the easy way out." Dick looked intensely into her eyes. "You cannot answer violence with more violence, Babs."

"Tell that to Bruce. First Jason Todd, now Selina, and Tim…It's getting very hard to forget the Clown...I still remember his crazy smile…the gunshot…his white cold hands touching my skin, " Barabar shuddered. "…the things he told me, the things he did to me…the humiliation of him, taking pictures…of me…naked, bleeding… and he was laughing as he did all this…he was enjoying it." Barbara busted into tears. She dropped her head on her hands as she let out her frustration between sobs. Dick's heart pruned, constricted with her friend's pain. Over the years, both have gotten very close, but this memories, were the ones that still left a gap in their relationship. How could he share his life with the woman he loved, when there was still a grinning shadow that will laugh at him from the darkest corners of these memories? But he understood one thing. Killing the Clown would not erase the grinning figure in the background. This was something they needed to deal with together instead, because the Joker's death will be more of a reward than a punishment for the pain and suffering he had caused. Dick knew that Barbara needed him, now than ever, and he was not going to leave her alone.

"Babs, the right decisions are always the hardest to make."

Barbara lifted her head and removed her glasses wiping away the tears. "I know, Dick. It's just that I wonder if we are not causing more harm by keeping that psycho alive." Barbara rubbed her eyes and straightened in the chair trying to brush away the anger and the frustration that the Joker had always been able to produce on her. Dick saw beyond that and she knew it. He pressed her hands hard and caressed her cheeks with a smile, then softly kissed her on her lips. She smiled back softly. "On another note, Edward Nigma has been transferred from Arkham in a deep coma since this morning. They have not being able to find a reason for his sudden illness, but I bet he was somehow poisoned."

"From inside the asylum? That's bold." Dick rose from the floor and reclined against the computer console. "Who might have done something like that?"

"That same day Dr. Harley Quinzel escaped the Asylum. Coincidence? Don't think so. I think they're connected."

"Great! We need another psycho loose in the streets. But I don't see what she could gain from attacking Nigma."

"Does she need an excuse? She is as insane as her boyfriend and you know Joker and Nigma have always antagonized. She probably wanted to show off her love for the Clown." Oracle wheeled herself to the computer station where he started typing some commands. "And I also found who paid the bonds on the gunmen from the Docks. The account was opened with the name of Lee Oswald Lagrange. I haven't been able to get any information on the guy yet, but I'm still working on it. The account closed an hour after the gunmen were released. Whoever did this had excellent timing."

"Maybe I can tell you. Was the account opened personally or on line?"

There was a brief silence as she quickly typed in the keyboard. "Opened online, six days ago… how did you know?"

"Bruce told me that Joker had a hacker working with him. The name is Michael Garibaldi and I think he originated the account. See if you can track the computer he's using but I will not be surprised if you can't find anything. That guy is good."

"The Joker associates with the best his money can pay, but a hacker?"

"This is more than your average hacker, Babs. He goes by the name of Blip and he has an extensive history with the FBI already. Not only does he seem to be hacking for the Clown, but he also seems to have access to Joker's financial lifelines and other important aspects of his organization. This guy is really close to the Joker and Bruce wants to nail him too."

"Since when is Joker needing a financial advisor?"

Dick shrugged. "Bruce is the expert on Joker, and he thinks that this is not his typical MO."

"And he's right. Joker just robbing the museum? That would have been too simple, too insignificant. Joker needs to show off, blow something up and catch the city's attention. He's addicted to the flamboyant, show business. He's a narcissistic psychopath that loves to perform. And since when Joker has needed a hacker?"

"We are also a little thrown off by this behavior and Bruce also says the murders are systematic; he's not on a killing spree at least not yet. This 'Joker' is somehow different."

"And not making any mistakes…yet. Did you read the news of the guy taking the blame on the Trenton murders? The report even said that the murderer even threatened to kill Joker himself. If that's true, this guy just signed his death wish, because Joker does not forgive something like that."

Dick remembered when Batman asked him to keep the information on the newspaper note under tabs. "I read the newspaper but I'm not sure that we are dealing with another killer. It's just that the Joker's crimes look like the hand of someone who knows Joker, but doesn't understand his motives, you know what I mean? Anybody can plant a deck of cards in a crime scene and say it's Joker, but why does Joker leaves a deck of cards in the first place? Those are two totally different things. It's hard to explain, but it's as if Joker has lost his essence."

"Joker has no essence, Dick. He's just a psychopath who enjoys killing and maiming people. He's insane." Barbara said very emphatically. His hatred for the Clown was obvious in her voice. "Can you imagine if we have two psychopaths in the streets competing to see who was better at killing people?"

"I hear you. There has been too much bloodshed as it is…and Bruce is starting to concern me. All the people he cares for are getting hurt, and Joker seems to be behind all of it." Dick folded his arms over his chest and let out a deep sigh. "This has to be affecting him more than he's letting us see. He even asked me to leave the case."

"What?" Barbara asked with a sudden shudder in her voice. Her eyes glistened as tears started to accumulate once more.

"He has to be restraining from any emotional outburst. I know Bruce. How long you think a person could hold back like that before going ballistic?"

"You tell me. Selina's attack has left him devastated; you know how close those two are. And Tim's accident was the straw that broke the camel's back."

"I hope there was a way of making this easier on him. Bruce doesn't talk much but I can only imagine what's going on in his head and I don't want to be in the shoes of those responsible of Selina and Tim's attacks."

"Tim's attack?" Nightwing couldn't hold his surprise.

"Thought you knew…I got access to the police report on Robin's accident and it appears that someone shot the bike twice. That probably made him loose control on the highway.

"Damn, no wonder he wanted me out of the case. This is getting off hand, and Bruce is not going to tolerate much more violence."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Joker was finally alone in his office, and he was definitely not a happy. Not only he was starting to feel what he thought was an unnatural sense of guilt, but his plans were not proceeding as fast as he would have liked it. On top of everything it looked like he needed to watch Charley too, who was starting to become a very annoying second-in-command. Nobody yelled at him, not even a woman… He was really confused and stressing too much for his own health. The nightmares had started to come back and they seemed to come in stereo surround sound as well. _COURTESY OF ME, THE CLOWN…HA, HA_. This time his hallucinations and his voices came back with a vengeance, he was not sleeping enough and worst of all, he was starting to argue with himself in public. Joker started to massage his temples. He could feel a headache coming. And there was that little voice on his head a voice he could not shut down, no matter how hard he tried… Not good when he was supposed to be sane... and right now all he wanted to do was scream… He, the Clown Prince of Crime, the Jester of Hate, scream. Now THAT was insane.

"What happened to good comedy?" Joker whispered. _YOU KILLED IT, JACK. BUT IF YOU LET ME PLAY…WE CAN ALL HAVE A TON OF FUN… _He was really missing the old days when he could find the humor on anything he did. This was not funny, not funny at all. He could hear the voice in his head, the clown…asking for release. YES!! He wanted to make a large and memorable joke, one in which the body count was large and he wanted to sit on top of the carcasses and just laugh to his delight…"No. Not now. I am in control here_." YOU'VE NEVER BEEN IN CONTROL, JACK. _"Oh, God. Please leave me alone for while, I beg you." He whispered as he heard the clown's voice. _"PATHETIC LITTLE MAN…HOW LONG YOU PLAN ON KEEPING THIS FARCE? I'M A BUSY CLOWN AND MY FIRGERS ARE ITCHING FOR SOME DEADLY FUN…I CAN'T LIVE ON CRUMBS, YOU KNOW?"_ He put his hands on his ears but the voice was still there._ "IF YOU KEEP THIS UP, JACK, I MIGHT NOT BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED ME…AND THAT COULD BE A PAINFUL MIISTAKE."_

Joker leaned over the desk and using the mouse, he opened the media player on the computer. He picked up some files and hit play, making sure the volume was at its highest. Immediately the speakers on his desk reverberated with the drums and strings of very loud classical music. It was uncomfortable but maybe now he wouldn't hear the clown's voice again. "Get out of my head, please. Take a nap, go on a cruise, or go to Disneyland, but just get out. I said it's not your time yet. I'm the one in control." _STOP LYING TO YOURSELF. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN IN CONTROL. YOU"VE ONLY DONE WHAT I'VE WANTED YOU TO DO... YOU WANT ME. YOU NEED ME. YOU'RE ANGRY AND YOU WANT TO KILL SOMETHING, YOU ARE HALF THE JOKER WITHOUT ME…AND YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE CLASSICAL MUSIC._ He walked over to his desk and let himself heavily on the chair resting his head on his arms. He did not want to do this anymore, but the Bat was not dead yet and quitting in the middle of the mission will be ridiculous, especially when he felt triumph so close he could almost touch it …-"Just a little longer, Jack, just a little bit longer then the clown goes free…I swear to God."- He told himself while he rocked slightly on the chair_. "HOW MUCH PAIN DO I HAVE TO THROW AT YOU BEFORE YOU LISTEN TO ME? LET'S SEE HOW MUCH SUFFERING YOU CAN TAKE BEFORE YOU BEG ME TO TAKE YOU AWAY AGAIN."_ Joker put his hands on his face. "Please, allow me a little more time, and then the stage is all yours. I promise_." YOU PROMISE A LOT, JACK; BUT AT THE END IT IS ME WHO DELIVERS…THE DEADLY BLOW. HA, HA…_

The Clown Prince started to laugh while he straightened on the chair and felt the gems in his pocket uncomfortably against his skin. He extracted them and set them on the table along with marble grenades. It was amazing how those tiny pieces of blue, red, and white glass looked so innocent among his marble grenades, one million dollars of innocence alongside one hundred pounds of TNT in miniature. He stopped laughing, held one of the diamonds between his fingers and made it glint against the light from above. The diamond was perfect, completely clear and the facets were cut to perfection. Joker was not a gem expert, but had stolen enough of them to recognize a work of art. The diamond was flawless. He took another diamond, slightly larger than the first and placed it against the light. It glimmered with a soft blue hue, almost a supernatural glow and he wondered how this one will look in a ring…

"_It's beautiful, Jack; but you shouldn't have," Jean said taking the ring off her finger and returning it back to him._

"_I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. I love you Jean." He took the ring and put it back __in her finger, then held her hand tightly. "Please keep it. As a sign of my love."_

"_This is an expensive ring, Jack. Were did you get the money for it?"_

_"Please, Jeannie, don't ask." Jack said apologetically. " Just… enjoy it. You deserve that and a hundred times more. I've never felt this way with anybody before you came to my life."_

_"But Jack, how many people did you have to hurt to pay for this ring?"_

_"None, I promise. It came from my …savings. Just…" Jack pleaded as his voice broke. Who was he fooling? Savings? And where did those savings came from, stupid! That money had being saved from the hits he had done for Boss Doyle over the years and a lot of people had died in the process. She was right, a lot of people have been hurt for that diamond ring in her finger, but still… this woman made him feel so different, so full of life like he had never felt before, and though that diamond had been paid with blood…he couldn't find any other way of telling her how much she meant for him. _

_Ever since he met her, his life had been a world of conflicting emotions and he felt that his heart was out of control, much like those merry-go-round in the fair but with no one to make it stop. He loved her, with all the strength of his heart but she knew what he did for a living and he knew she hated every bit of it. Did that mean she hated him too? God, please, no—he had prayed over and over again every night when in the solitude of his room when he had thought of her. If only things were different…_

_"Jack. I need you to stop lying to me. If you say you really love me… then no more lies."_

_"I promise… no more lies." Jack waved both hands by his side. "It's just that I am afraid you'll hate me forever and I don't think I can live without you." Jack's last words sounded like a whisper, he didn't want to admit it but this woman had become the reason for his existence._

_"Oh, dear…" Jean answered holding his hands that felt clammy and cold. He shook like a scared child. She caressed his face, then his wild brown hair and with a smile she kissed him softly on the cheek. A hint of a smile appeared on his face. "I don't think I can ever hate you, love. It's just that I am afraid…for you. You play a dangerous game, Jack, and you play with dangerous people."_

_Yes, he associates with dangerous people, but he was a dangerous man in his own right. Everybody was terrified of having a close encounter with Crazy Jack, yet she had chosen him, and that had made all the difference in the whole world. She deserved better, a man with his past and his present was no good company, but she still remained by his side, and he didn't know who was thinking of him so highly to reward him with this wonderful woman. In his life, everything had a meaning now, and the hatred that had been his faithful companion for so many years, had started to fade away. What kind of magic had this woman played on him? He didn't know, but part of him was happy she did, because for the first time he felt like a human being and not like the lifeless caricature he has been all his life._

_"Jeannie. Will you marry me?"_

_She looked at him with wide blue eyes, her mouth open in surprise. He looked at her with anticipation. This was hard, very hard. He had never dealt with emotions like this before, but he felt this was the right thing to do. He knew this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with._

_"Jack… what you do…"_

_"I'll quit." He said resolutely. "For you." _

_"You think they will let you go that easy?"_

_"They better not touch me, or I'll…" He saw her look away from him, and he felt like he had lost her forever. Air was very thin and he felt himself starting to hyperventilate. "Sorry. I didn't mean that. We can disappear, somewhere where they can't find us and be together, start anew. I think I can get a living in comedy, or maybe in the arts."_

_"We're never going to be safe anywhere in Gotham."_

_"We don't need to stay in Gotham. I have some property in Brenton. We can move there and nobody will bother us, it's a very rural town, but nice. We can raise a family there." Jack's green eyes sparkled with the joy of a little kid when he sees the gifts under the tree on Christmas day for the first time. "Or we can go wherever you want. Just you and me."_

_She smiled and he felt the air was returning to him. "A future in comedy, you say?"_

_"Yes, I'm good at being a clown." Jack responded at the same time he stuck his tongue out and crossed his eyes. That made Jeannie bust out laughing, and he joined her laughter, the pressure in his chest being lifted away with each chortle. "Well, do you want to marry a clown?"_

_The laughter slowly subsided Jeannie extended a hand and caressed his face tenderly, her eyes sparkled with the glow of the sun against the sapphire sky. Jack could get lost in those blue eyes for ever. "Yes Jack, I want to be your wife."_

_He felt that the ground was made of soft cotton candy and that he could fly in the air. His heart (that he had not felt for the longest time), was beating at the speed of sound, about to leave his chest. He embraced her for the longest time, her warmth like a battery, recharging his tired soul. This is the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and he will not let anybody get in the way of this chance to be happy, really happy. In the past, he had been denied this feeling of completion and joy, but today he will kill whoever stood in his way. This was his reward, the angel that God had set aside for him to rescue his soul from the darkened city of Gotham. This was the light that was going to illuminate the rest of his existence in this world, the beacon that will guide his ship. This was the happiest day of his life, at least the happiest he has had in a long, long time. _

_He rose, pulled her to him, and whirled her around. She giggled. He loved her laughter. She asked him to stop spinning and he slowed down letting her regain her footage. She was still giggling when he kissed her tenderly on the lips. She was taken by surprised, but liked it. He ran his hand down her soft rosy cheek and she kissed it gently, then their lips touched once more, with more spark, emotion, in a long passionate kiss. He did not want to let go of her, but realized that there were people waiting for him at city hall. He still had to manage some of his bosses businesses and she did not have to know that now, or ever. He let her go and grabbed his fedora from the seat._

_"I'll be back tomorrow. Will you be here?" Jack asked holding her hand._

_"Maybe. It's getting harder to make excuses to come to the park, but I'll try my best."_

_"Good. Then maybe I can talk to your parents tomorrow too. That way it'll be official. I can't wait to see you again."_

_Kissing her hand softly he bid her farewell with a deep reverence, like a knight in shinning armor. He always had a soft spot for the theatrical. She sighed deeply and started the walk home at the other end of the park. Jack put back his hat; lifted the collar of his trench coat and put his hands on the pockets. Without Jeannie around, the temperature had started to drop to the normal chilly standard of the Gotham Fall. He started walking toward the parking lot where he knew his partner was waiting for him. It wasn't too long until he saw Tony, jet black hair glistening with gel, combed slickly back, and dressed up in a black and gray suit. The man rested against the car having a smoke._

_"'Twas about time, Romeo...Five more minits and I was 'bout to get out there and pull yeh away myself." Jack did not answer just kept walking towards the car. Tony flicked what was left of his cigarette to the side of the road. "What do you see in that broad anyway? It ain't like you can't get laid with a woman of better class than her, ye know? Even Doyle's girlfriend is after you. Now that's a hot chick..." Tony licked his lips._

_Jack's forest green eyes narrowed into thin dark slits and in a swift movement he drew his .38 and forced the barrel into Tony's mouth aiming the tip forward towards the brain. With his other hand he reached and removed his partner's gun before Tony had a chance to get to it. He was furious, his anger taking control, but Jack still had time to enjoy the look of terror in his partner's face. Call him crazy, but he felt this moment was priceless._

_"Don't you ever speak of her like that, or I'm gonna blow your head off, rip out your heart out and feed it to the dogs. Is that clear?" Jack said in a low raspy voice. Tony nodded nervously as far as the barrel inside his mouth allowed him, rivulets of sweat were running down his temple and drool was escaping the sides of his mouth around the gun. Jack was emotionless; not a drop of perspiration, not a moment of hesitation. "You know, I've been thinking, Tony. No matter what Doyle says, you're a useless piece of shit. Maybe I should just blow your head off now and get it over with." Jack looked deep into his partner's eyes. They were filled with sheer terror, and something moved inside him. Jack felt pleasure, immense sense of joy of seeing his partner about to shit on his pants, terrorized about what Crazy Jack was capable of doing. After all, Crazy Jack was capable of anything… "You are as useless as Kenny was before you and Marty before that. Useless, you hear me? And you don't see 'em around no more, do you? That's 'cause I got rid of the trash…" Tony swallowed hard. "I still don't know why Doyle pays you. You should be working for free…I can work by myself and still do my work and yours without breaking a sweat… Would you like me to pull the trigger and put you out of your misery now…partner?" Jack smiled wide. " Please, say yes."_

_"Gack, glease… gont." pleaded Tony through the barrel still stuck in his mouth, his face devoid of any color and unable to control his body from shuddering. Jack smiled perversely then removed the gun from his partner's mouth, cleaned it on Tony's shirt, and placed it back on his holster. He let Tony's gun fall to the ground. _

_"Nah! That would be wasting a perfectly good bullet." Jack pushed Tony out of his way and walked towards the passenger side of the sedan. "Pick that up and let's go. Doyle is waiting for us… and never, ever… mention Doyle's whore in front of me. Understood?" His partner nodded very frightened and both got into the car. Tony was still shaking after the near death experience he had but said nothing, He knew better than to antagonize Jack who had quite a murderous reputation, that he would gladly show off to anyone, when he was in one of his moods. The truth was that the guy scared him; he was so unpredictable… some people even said he was kind of crazy…. Crazy Jack…_

No…not that memory... Joker wrapped his arms around his lower abdomen, hunched over the table, painfully and rocked very slowly on the chair. "What are you trying to do to me, clown..? Everything I'm doing, I'm doing for both of us, don't you understand..? Stop torturing me." He whispered. He felt his eyes filling with tears, and he rubbed them forcefully. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he control these memories and the emotions that came along with them? Anger…pain…guilt…sorrow…He wish he couldn't feel anything. _I'LL TAKE THEM AWAY FOR YOU…IF YOU LET ME IN CONTROL…IF NOT, YOU'RE GONNA FEEL PAIN LIKE YOU HAVEN'T FELT BEFORE._ He had to be strong if he was going to subdue the Bat and this nonsensical behavior was not helping the situation. Joker felt someone tapping at his shoulder. He grabbed the hand, turned and drew his .38J forcing it forcefully against the intruder's chin. Wait a moment, this is not Tony…

"Boss!?" Blip yelled trying to win against the loud noise in the office. He said something else, but the words were lost within the synthesizer notes…when did Joker started to like electronic music? Joker put his gun down and clicked on the mouse on the desk. The music stopped suddenly, but Blip stood there frozen in terror.

"You startled me…How many times do I have to tell you not to creep up on me?"

"Boss, it's just…I'ts that I found Brigadier Ritz's address." Blip's spectacled face was devoid of color. Joker looked at him angrily. The Clown's eyes were very red and swollen. "You OK?"

"Allergies to cats." replied the Joker picking a brown jacket from the hanger by his desk. LIAR, LIAR…PANTS ON FIRE…The Clown looked into one of the drawers and found and small black bag inside, small enough to carry around, but big enough for the small collection of gems with him. He collected the gems on the table and put them back in the black bag and replaced it in his pocket. Blip noticed the mechanical behavior and the lack of expression on the Clown Prince's face. He'd made a funny and didn't even sneer. That was odd. Maybe he was just tired. "Let's go."

"D-don't you even want t-to rest a little, after last night?"

"Sleep_?" CLOSE YOUR EYES AND I'LL GIVE YOU EVEN MORE PAIN._ "No way, I'm in a roll. I can sleep later. Let's go." Joker walked out his office in a hurry, as if trying to run away from something and Blip followed as fast as he could to keep up. Walking through the common room, Joker noted a lot of his men already sleeping in the couches. He kicked Elliot's shinbone and the massive man grunted. "Hey, big guy! Are you ready for some more bone crunching today? Come on, join the party…"

Joker was starting to giggle. "… Yo' Harold. You're coming too. I need a Republican in my team." He looked around. "Hey, where are Charley and Jake?"

"They went out together about an hour ago." Blip answered.

Joker frowned and a loud maniacal laughter started reverberating in the room. "My cell phone."

"What?" asked Blip, obviously confused.

"My cell phone, don't you hear it?" I don't remember where I left it." Joker followed the laughter around the room when he noted it was coming from under Taylor, one of the Leopards who had jumped off the sofa startled by the mysterious noise. It was coming from the Joker's green coat underneath him. The boss picked it up and fumbled inside the pockets until he found what he was looking for. "Yes?"

Someone was screaming so loud over the phone that Blip could hear the entire conversation if he listened carefully. "Would you mind slowing down, Tommy?"

"Slow down my ass, Joker. I had a visit from the Batman and the guy was really pissed off. He already sent eight of my strongest bodyguards to the hospital and threatened me with the GCPD, the IRS and who knows what else if I didn't tell him where you where. What did you do to this guy and how the hell does he know I'm working with you?"

_YOU'RE NOT WORKING WITH ME, TOMMY BOY, YOU'RE WORKING FOR ME. LOOSER._

"Nothing yet, really. I'm just starting to have fun." Joker cleared his throat. "You didn't tell 'im, right? Because the truth is, he really doesn't know a thing. He was just forcing you to spill the beans. You knew that, eh Dark T?"

"Don't get smart with me, clown. This guy meant business. He started to ask questions about the Docks, then the museum… no, I didn't tell him anything but I'm sure he knows something already."

"Hm… Tom, I wouldn't say another word if I were you. Don't you think the rodent set a bug already and he might be listening to this conversation?"

"Fuck, Joker. This is getting off hand. I'm out of this shit as of right now. I don't want another visit from that freak."

"Tom, you can't get out now," Joker said in a falsetto voice. "The Bat's after your ass, and you are so close to inherit Iago's territory, it's not even funny. I'm the only one who can take care of your vermin problem…and don't you ever talk to me like that or I'll kill you…"

"You're fucking with the wrong guy, clown. Just because you iced Iago, you don't scare me. I'm out of your fucking game of intrigues and you'd better find yourself the best bodyguard you can pay because I'm going to fill you with so much lead no one will recognize you."

"Oh, my.. You threatening me? How rude! Please, don't make me get the Joker juice…"

"Bring it on you, son of a bitch. I myself will hang your dead body from the walls of that asylum you escaped from."

"Oh, Tom. You are so funny. Remind me to send you a thank you card for this laugh. Check your mail really soon." Joker looked at Blip with a large toothy smile and hung up the phone. "I think that someone's not happy."

"The Batman?"

"The Batman, Dark Tom… I'm sure the Bat visited Garrison too. It's always the Batman, Blip. That flying rodent has become a royal pain in my ass. It is worst than a severe case of hemorrhoids. He's now running my favorite mobsters from doing business with me. Think we'll have to take care of our gangsters as well. No fair, I was starting to like them." He secured the cell phone in his pocket and walked away. "On the other hand, I wished I could've seen the Bat's face while he spoke to Dark Tom…and they say that I have restrained anger issues, that Bat can be as psycho as me…If only the Clown was here..." Joker sighed and turned around. The man who had been woken up by the phone ring was yawning. "Hey, Tay-Tay, since you are already awake, care to join us for a little adventure? Extra credit if you accept." The Boss smiled wide.

"Boss, I really don't… I'm too tired." Joker stared at him and giggled.

"Wrong answer, Taylor." Joker drew his gun and fired. Taylor fell to the floor were he did not move anymore and blood was starting to pool behind his head. _LOOSING CONTROL, JACK? GOOD JOB, MY BOY! _The Clown Prince put the barrel by his head and started to giggle childishly. "Anybody else wants to join me?"

All the thugs in the hideout raised their hands at once. Joker smiled complacently, and appointed a few of his men to follow him. He put the gun in his holster and started to walk out when he saw Hawk by the door. "Good to know I'm still on control...Could someone please clean this mess before I return? Blood and brain matter are so hard to get off the floor after they dry…"

* * *

That's all folks...Hope you liked this double treat. PLEASE...leave feedback, good, bad...anything. Just want to hear from you all... 


	21. Putting the Puzzle together

Author's note: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback guys it is deeply appreciated. Remember I'm open to critic too, so if you think this can be improved somehow...please be nice to share...Now enjoy this chapter

Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS

Disclaimer 2: Some scenes may contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Please use reader's discretion when reading those scenes

CHAPTER 21: PUTTING THE PUZZLE TOGETHER

Bruce looked intently into the computer screen. In front of him was a list of the latest activities that had been associated with the Joker since his escape from Arkham and none of it made any sense.

All these crimes lacked one very important Joker element. They did not have any hint of humor and did not seem to have the flamboyant, exaggerated, histrionic air of past Joker crimes. Why? What was the Joker trying to do? In the past it had been so easy to determine the pattern; the Joker himself will be leaving clues all over the place for the Bat to follow, for the final confrontation. The final act. Just like a play, which was the preferred setting for the clown and his crimes. Not this time and Bruce was too tired of looking at evidence that did not tell him anything about the Joker's pattern or where was the Clown going to hit next. Even the lead on the Joker's desk grew cold when he found out that the actual artisan known to have made a table like that had been dead for almost four years. It shouldn't have been that hard for Joker to see the liability of the artist to stay alive and disposed of the artisan the same way he had disposed of so many before him.

All the evidence suggested Joker was selecting his targets and his MO very carefully, almost logically and for very private reasons. But how was that possible? Criminals don't change their MO out of the blue and though the Joker was extremely intelligent and resourceful but one thing he's never been able to do was to think logically. That's what made him different to Batman and had become his weakness, but this time the Joker showed no obvious weakness and a Joker with no weaknesses will be very difficult to stop.

Bruce picked the cup of tea Alfred had left for him by his side. It had grown cold from sitting on the console so long and it was his fault. This case was taking all his time and energy and wasn't leading anywhere. If only he could decipher the game the clown was trying to play now, he could stop the people from getting hurt around him. First Barbara, now Selina, then Tim while the memory of Jason Todd still lingered in his mind leaving an acrid bitter taste on his mouth. The end result from the shooting at Wayne Tech had left a final countdown of six people dead, only a young girl survived but with her psyche probably scarred for life. Who was going to be next one..? Bruce lifted from the chair and smashed the cup against the cave wall. His patience with the Joker was running thin.

"Master Bruce?"

The Batman looked at the main floor of the Bat-cave a few feet bellow. There Alfred Pennyworth was accompanied Dick Grayson, who was still in his black and blue Nightwing costume.

"Everything OK, Bruce?"

"Joker." Bruce growled holding onto the back of the chair by the computer.

"With all due respect, sir and with no intention of lighten up your responsibilities as this city's caped crusader, maybe it is time to leave the Joker be for a moment while you gather strength and…

"And what? Wait until he kills a few hundred people?" The Dark Knight said angrily. Fury was glowing in his eyes. I need to stop that monster now."

"I don't think you are in any position to stop anything at this time, Bruce, especially, not the Joker.

"You want to take over the case?" Batman roared.

Dick looked at Wayne with resentment. He's always been there for the man, by choice, because he shared his vision and his dream of Gotham as a safe city for his inhabitants. He did not need to stand here just to be insulted by a grumpy old man. He was not a child anymore, he was a man and if he needed to follow his vision with or without the Batman and he was ready to do it.

Batman's severe stare softened. He had let his feelings take the best of him and his friends. He did not nee to lash at his friends like that. "Dick… I'm sorry. Alfred… I don't know what to say." Bruce said rubbing his temples.

"Then say nothing, sir."

"This case is taking the best out of you, Bruce. It's just the Joker, man. We've nailed that Clown once... we'll do it again."

"I…don't know anymore. The evidence is pointing in the Joker's direction but I can't predict his next move because he'snot acting as I expect him to, he's contradicting his own personality traits. He didn't even respond to the challenge I made for him. He's still out there hurting me and my close friends with impunity. I…don't know what else to do…I don't know what to think." Bruce slammed his hand angrily against the chair's back support

"Let's run over the evidence one more time. Two sets of eyes are better than one." Dick responded going up the steps towards Bruce.

"I'll get some more tea. It's going to be a long night." Alfred disappeared through the auxiliary cave exit. Once Alfred had left, Dick got close to Wayne by the console and set a reaffirming hand over his broad shoulders.

"Bruce, it's just the Joker. A crazy clown who is so separated from reality that's going to stumble on his own web. It's just a matter of figuring his game abn soon he will make a mistake and we'll pound on the Clown for good."

"That is what's so different about Joker this time…he's not acting at random. His planning his moves very carefully, making sure he stays in the shadows…Joker has never been able to stay in the shadows for too long. Why isn't he showing off?"

"It has to be part of his plan…and believe me, knowing Joker psychoses; this should be as hard for him as it is probably for you to figure his pattern. He will succumb to his own insanity."

"I'm not that sure, Dick. Joker seems very calm with the idea Look at this…"

Batman clicked on the mouse and the Media player appeared on the main screen of the Bat-computer. He uploaded a video file and played it. It was a poor quality reproduction of the video he had originally seen at Gordon's office. Dick looked at the video attentively until it ended.

"Wow…" Dick scratched the back of his head. "He really thinks he's the center of the universe, doesn't he? And since when he's doing the Dr. Phil on the Batman?"

"He left this at the computers on Wayne Tech for me to find. Does that Joker looks separated from reality to you?"

"Maybe it is just another performance." Dick said reclining against the computer console. "Joker is good at making deceiving performances."

"No, there is something else. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but there is something going on with Joker. He must've being able to figure out the plot with the second murderer in the scene, because he has not reacted to it. It's almost as if he didn't care."

"If he knew it was you…why bother?"

"The damage was already done, Dick. The news reached thousands of people in the city. Those people think there's another murderer, and that he's after Joker. That turns the Joker into a secondary player which would have hurt his pride, and he should have done something against the threat of someone stealing his act. Instead, he just does nothing. Joker's ego has always been his downfall. He needs to be in the spotlight all the time…until now."

"What about the microchip, any idea why he stole it?"

"None. It's just a prototype. That chip needed a lot of development to be useful in any way, otherwise is just a piece of silicon…I don't know what he wants to do with it, not even sure he can do something with it."

"Maybe not for Joker…but what about the hacker that hangs out with him?"

"Even if so, his crime doesn't fit in, is not even part of one of his performances. At Wayne Tech Joker didn't fool around or made any jokes. He just stole the chip, killed a few people and left. Highly unusual for someone who is addicted to perform and make people laugh."

"Didn't you think burying you inside that cocoon was funny?"

Bruce gave Nightwing a stern look, Dick just smiled subtly. "No... And just before that, Joker was going to shoot at me as he did the other when he started to talk nonsense, and speaking in third person. Even used the pronoun _we_ when he was referring to himself. Something really bad has happened to that clown. Bruce opened a map of Gotham city. "I analyzed the video he left in detail. The desk Joker is using was commissioned, but the artisan who worked on it is dead and all the leads after that grow cold."

"Go figures."

"Not only that, Dick. I had asked Harley about that desk and she didn't know anything about it and that's very strange. She was even taken abashed by the whole thing. It seemsJoker have been hiding things from even her too ."

"Now that's odd. How can he keep something secret from Harley…she's all over the guy." Alfred made his return to the cave carrying with him a tray with some tea and biscuits. The butler set the tray on the table at the base of the Bat-computer. "He seems to have his own agenda as well and Harley is not in it. Maybe that's the reason why he left her at the asylum."

"The tea is here." Alfred announced.

"Thanks Alfred." Bruce said turning back to Nightwing. "Probably. I analyzed the audio from the video and found that from Joker's filming location you could hear the train. I suspect it is the Gotham underground railway system. I graphed the areas where you could hear it that loud, and that is the shaded area in the map.

"You went on to investigate already?

"I told Gordon and he set some patrols over the area. So far, there have been no Joker sightings. I asked Harley again and she didn't know of any place within that area where the Joker could be hiding."

"Every time we try to get close to that Clown, he just sifts through our fingers."

"And that concerns me. If I can't predict his moves…I'm going to always pick up his leftovers. That way, I will never be able to stop him…and I don't like it. And he's acting so strangely."

"Master Bruce, Master Grayson. The tea is best served warm." Alfred said emphatically. Bruce smiled and rose from the terminal heading down the Bat-computer console along with Dick Grayson towards the table the butler had set with the tea and biscuits. Better to not make Alfred wait with the food.

"You know about Harley's escape, right?" Dick said taking a sip of tea from his cup.

"No, but I had suspected she would try something like that sooner or later. She was getting a little upset with me coming with a lot of questions and me not getting any results. I warned the Asylum about the possibility of such an occurrence but like always, I think my warnings fell on deaf ears."

"Barbara thinks she attacked Edward Nigma before she left."

"The Riddler?" Bruce asked putting some sugar cubes in his tea and mixing briskly. "What happened to Nigma?"

"He was hospitalized in comma after a series of seizures of unknown origin."

"And Nigma is no epileptic…but that would not make any sense. It would be too risky just to wander inside the Asylum, to kill someone else, when you are trying to do a precarious escape. Harley is not as resourceful as Joker and her priority would have been to leave while she could."

"Who else would be interested in hurting Mr. Nigma?" Alfred inquired.

"Nigma has a lot of enemies, especially in higher places. I would think one of Edward's associates will try to kill him before Harley."

"Which reminds me…Barbara was able to track down who paid bail for the thugs you arrested at the Docks. The name on the account is a certain Lee Oswald LaGrange and they opened the account, via internet, a few days before the incident, they closed it after the money was paid…I thought of your hacker, Garibaldi."

"And don't forget his boss." Dick looked confused, so did Alfred who was lifting a quizzical eyebrow. "The name…Lee Oswald LaGrange. Put the initials together and…"

"LOL…laughing out loud. I'm an idiot. That would confirm it's him."

"Yes, and Joker couldn't pass the chance to use the name of JFK's murderer. The murderer is laughing out loud."

"The fiend…" Alfred muttered.

"After I spoke to you about the museum robbery, I went to pay a visit to Dark Tom Clancy and Boss Garrison. It took me to break a few arms and ribs to convince them to receive me and we had a chat about the robbery."

"What did they say?"

"Dark Tom swears that he has not seen Joker, and that he just acted on an anonymous tip that Garrison was going to make a move on Iago's territory. He was extremely nervous, I think not because of me, but rather of Joker himself. Garrison was a little more forgoing with the information and admitted talking to Joker, but that he refused to work with the Crazy Clown…those exact words, though he admitted not knowing what the Joker was planning."

"At least someone is in his right mind, but I take it you didn't believe any of them."

"I'm a detective. I need proof before I believe. I left some…equipment there to help track phone calls from and to both mobsters in the hope that they will contact Joker at some time."

"And..?"

"There have been some extensive communications between Garrison and Clancy." Alfred said pouring some tea for himself. "Too much communication between two mobsters who are fighting each other over a territory if you ask me."

"Has anybody tried to contact Joker?"

"I've been helping Master Bruce track the source of those numbers without finding anything out of the ordinary, but there are two numbers the computer has picked up that it has not been able to identify…the number sequence is incomplete, both times someone has dialed them."

"I'm suspecting Garibaldi must have set up some type of system to prevent those numbers from being tracked."

"One number for Joker and another for Garibaldi… makes sense. Have you been able to compare the numbers with the national phone directory, Alfred?" Dick said.

"Working on it, Master Grayson. The computer is searching for matches, but it's going to take some time. In the meantime we'll have to patiently wait."

"And have you noted how Joker's crimes have escalated in violence? First it was Trenton and his gang, then Thermoupoulos…

"The drug dealer?" Dick interrupted.

"Yes. Was tortured, beaten to death, and forced to eat…cotton candy."

Dick could not contain a chortle. "Cotton candy?"

"You could kill a diabetic if you force him to eat cotton candy and provide no insulin or glycemic drug. They toyed with Thermoupoulos for a long time before they decided to beat him to death. I saw the pictures from the crime scene and they were extremely bloody. The only way to recognize Thermoupoulos was through DNA sampling."

"No fingerprints?"

"They had burned Iago's fingertips so fingerprinting was impossible. Another thing was that Thermoupoulos' henchmen as well as a local prostitute had been dismembered and scattered throughout the apartment. "

"That's sick…"

"Joker is a mass murderer and psychotic, but none of his crimes has ever been so bloody. He has always gone for humor not gore."

"Twisted humor, Bruce. It always ends up with someone dead."

"Yes, I know, but as part of something that for him is funny. He then kills all those people at Wayne Tech in cold blood, and I'm really thinking that wasn't part of his original plan. He just blew up, like a fuse, shoots people at random, without a single joke. Then steals the gems and mutilates Selina Kyle in the museum." Bruce had to stop. He remembered reading the report on the attack on Catwoman and how her skin was cut, and bruised, and her back…with the words HA, HA, carved on her skin. Joker's violence was escalating indeed but not proportionally to the humor involved. How much did Selina go through at the hands of that maniac?

"Bruce?"

"I'm fine, Tim…" God…what had he said? The same way that Selina's brutal attack had left him with an empty soul, now thinking of Robin…He really couldn't take it anymore. This case has been the toughest one he had to try elucidate, and the hardest on him on a personal level. He never had so many people close to him being hurt or killed. It all was falling on top of his head like an avalanche, one he couldn't escape. "Sorry, Dick. I can't take Tim out of my mind."

"It's OK, man."

"No, it's not OK." Bruce banged his clenched fists on the table. "Gordon got the report on Tim's accident and said someone shot the front wheel twice. It was not an accident. It was an intentional act. "

"Barbara told me. I'm sorry, Bruce. That's pretty sick. But did Joker shoot Dick's bike?"

"He might have…I don't know…but with the violence of Joker's crimes, I would think that he is not satisfied with his murders or not getting the thrill like before."

"Now that's a scary thought. If Joker is not able to satiate his murderous appetite…he's not going to stop killing people violently.

"I know. This is getting off hand, and I'm tired of being toyed around by that clown. I need to find a way to put an end to this madness as soon as possible, and for the first time…I have to admit…I don't know how." Admitting he was at a loss with the Joker was like admitting to a crime. Dealing with criminals like the Clown Prince of Crime was what he had trained for his whole life. Bruce lifted both hands and joined them at the back of his head while he let a deep sough.

"Maybe it will be helpful if I tell you what Garibaldi seems to be up to online."

"He's been active on the Net again?

"Yes. My contacts in Bludhaven say that this Blip has been heard trying to access federal files from the internet. Something to do with the Pentagon. He's been also asking questions on experimental A.I. applications."

"God, no… Dick." Batman said with obvious concern in his voice. "Blip tried to get into the Pentagon' computer mainframe years ago, luckily without success. If he's trying again, with Joker's help, and he succeeds….Joker, Garibaldi, and the Pentagon just don't mix." Bruce, as strong willed as he was could not hold a shudder.

"It could be a problem of cataclysmic proportions," Alfred said pouring some more tea for himself.

"Joker and Garibaldi make quite a pair, but he will need some muscle to pull these crimes. Who's working for him?"

"Tim and I fought these thugs in the Alley the other night," Bruce swallowed and cleared his throat. The image of Robin in the intensive care unit still disturbed him. "One of the local gang members was seriously injured and while waiting for the ambulance he said that there was this new group called the Leopards that were trying to take over their turf. He said something about a Grand Snow Leopard giving them the city as a gift."

"Who's this Grand Snow Leopard?"

"I don't know yet, but maybe it's time to start asking some questions. I didn't think of them that much then but nowI have a strong suspicion that Joker might be the Grand Snow Leopard."

"Why do you think it could be Joker?"

"Remember the note on Trenton?" Bruce rose and searched on a bundle of papers at the edge of the table pulling out the scanned image of the note found on Phil Trenton's body and handing it to Dick. "See that line..? _'…cleaning MY city from criminal trash…_' You can only give away what is yours…and if Joker really thinks that the city is his…"

"But we have no proof."

"No, no conclusive proof. All this is speculative at the most and that's the way I'm standing with Joker right now… that's the best I can do with what that Clown is leaving me behind." The communication link beeped twice and Bruce looked at the ID caller. "Yes Barbara?"

"Sorry to join the meeting this late, but while I was running some records from Arkham I found some interesting things.

"We are all ears, Babe." said Dick trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Listen to this. The police report said that the night Harley escaped there was a new intern been shown the hospital by a nurse called Nancy Herrington. I got access to the archives and retrieved the files on the intern and they are all corrupted. Somebody must have planted the files there with a code for their destruction when they were no longer useful.

"Garibaldi. He's like a bad dream that just keeps coming back again and again." Dick sat at the table taking a sip of tea.

"What about the nurse?" Bruce asked putting his hand under his chin.

"Another dead end. Literally. They found her dead in her house after she did not show up for work for three days without calling."

"Interesting. We might have our murderer right there. She worked inside and she probably had access to Nigma's cell and could have slid the poison easily."

"But why?" asked Nightwing.

"That's what we need to find out."

"What about the intern?" said Barbara.

"Probably to take care of the nurse, or Nigma, or both; but I don't think we will ever know now."

"When they interviewed the personnel in the hospital that night, one of the orderlies reported seeing a new, very young nurse in the mess hall at that time. He read her name badge and reported that her name was Erith Rubeck."

"Unusual name; Hungarian maybe?"

" It will probably be a false name but it will be good to run that name with some immigration records just to be sure."

"If I may share an insight, sir…" Alfred interrupted looking away from the edge of the table where he had been listening to the entire conversation. "It is just an educated guess and probably means nothing."

"Go on, Alfred. I'm listening." Bruce said looking at the butler with great attention. I was not the first time he had seen something that the Batman had missed, a tiny detail that later proved useful. Bruce had great respect for his friend's insight.

"The name seems to be part of a word game. " The butler said. "It reminded me of a bird… _Erithacus rubecula, _or red-breasted Robin." Bruce and Dick looked at each other then back to Alfred. "I have a little experience in bird watching. It's an old pastime of mine." 

"Could it be possible?" Dick said looking at Bruce.

"That Joker has his claws on this one too? It's a possibility. He doesn't like Nigma, but where's the joke on attacking him? And why hasn't he starting to brag about it?"

"Maybe there's no joke here, just revenge. Isn't he acting very angry and hateful lately, no? Maybe he just wanted to even the score with the Riddler."

"True. This is not our regular Clown, and I'm still picking up after him. It's just that revenge is so out of character for Joker…Dick, one of the main principal gold rules in profiling is that obsessive compulsive criminals seldom change their MO or their motifs. Joker kills for fun, not for vengeance." Bruce walked over to the stair rail and started to go up to the Bat-computer terminal. "Anything happened to Nigma days before his seizures?"

"Not much," said Barbara. "Had, had an altercation a week ago with Dr. Crane who tried to psychoanalyze him and the day before he was visited by an attorney…Larry Wilde, to discuss some legal details of his case."

"Larry Wilde…I don't think I recognize the name. What happened to his regular lawyer, Oliver Brufford?

"On vacation according to his office. That's why Wilde was taking over Nigma's case as a personal favor to Brufford." Bruce stood there brooding deeply. Fitting pieces in this puzzle was becoming a formidable task. .

"Ok, what is it?" Dick said aloud. He knew when Bruce had one of those looks in his eyes there was something going one in that brain.

"Has Brufford returned from his vacation to check on his employer's health?" Bruce asked sitting at the Bat-computer's terminal.

"Not to my knowledge. Why?"

"I find it very strange that Brufford didn't come running back to make sure that Edward Nigma could still sign his paychecks from the hospital. Brufford is corrupted, and his only interest is to make sure he gets paid, and paid well. Investigate Wilde, I think he might be more related to Nigma's attack than we think."

"Then what about the nurse, and the intern? Where those two fit in this puzzle?" Dick asked.

"Those two keep popping in and out of the plot, but I think that Mr. Wilde is the thread that joins everything in this mystery."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker was looking out through the window of the sedan. The day was bright and clear, a very rare occurrence in a city covered most of the time with smog, and he was really upset. He had tried to reach Charley for about six times without even getting hold of her mailbox. That was odd. She had always responded quickly. He reached for his cell phone and dialed the number one more time, again the incessant ringing with no mailbox. He closed the purple phone forcibly and placed it back in his pocket.

"Still nothing?" Blip said turning on his palm pilot. "I told you they could not be trusted." Joker snorted in disgust and looked through the back mirror.

"Hey Neo, my boy, you sure that queen Charley, and sir Mountain Man didn't let you on their whereabouts?"

"No sir, I just heard them say that they needed some fresh air and left."

Joker did not frowned often but lately it was becoming a habit. "Oh well, they'll just have to miss on this one. You have everything you need, Blip?"

"I was born ready, sir."

"Good. Everybody in position?"

"Ready for your signal, boss" responded Harold through the comm. link in the car. The Joker surveyed the highway and quickly saw the brown UPS van he had "borrowed" for the plan. Truth be told, he had stolen the van and what was left of the driver was now part of the delivery on the back of the van. Harold was now at the helm of the van and Elliott as well as a few others from Terrence's gang joined them.

"Take the next exit, head to the address that Blip gave you, and proceed as planned. We'll meet you there in a few minutes."

"Mr. Joker, why not wait till later when it's darker to sneak into the house?" Milton asked doing his best keeping up with traffic.

"First, Batman works long nights, so he must be sleeping in. Second, always surprise the Bat (and the police as well) with the unexpected, and under normal circumstances I'll never pull something like this in broad daylight."

"What if the Riddler lied to you?" asked Blip.

"Why would Nigma lie to me..? I offered him over a million dollars and he doesn't just wear green…he sees in green."

"He's a liar, a trickster, and he doesn't like you." Blip said working on his PDA. "Need anything else?"

"Oh Blip don't be so nice…Nigma is more than that, but he wouldn't risk loosing the big prize, and just in case he tried to double cross me…" said Joker wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "Poor Nigma, he was a….useless, moronic, dull, motherfucker who thought he could outsmart me... Outsmart me? I. Don't. Think. So."

"You will show 'im who is boss?" Blip said with a smile.

Joker sniffled. "Let's just say that I'm gonna miss his riddles so much… and so you know, Blip…I took the time to check the names he gave me and the information matches perfectly with my sources. He's good, but I'm better."


	22. The Excursion

_Author's Note: Thanks a million to all you friends who had left your feedback on this story. I am thrilled you guys like it so much. Please, those of you just reading...don't be shy...I dont bite. Be kind and leave some feedback. Hope you continue to enjoy this novel...and coming ahead...a whole new chapter_

_Disclaimer1" Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Reader's discretion is adviced._

**CHAPTER 22: THE EXCURSION**

The phone rang for the third time, and Gordon, who had a cup of coffee in one hand while holding a bundle of files under his other arm tried frantically to open the door to his office. He finally succeeded and quickly slipped in dumping the files over his desk.

"Hello," Gordon answered the phone almost panting resting his weight on the table.

"You OK, Jim? Batman asked sounding concerned.

"Yes, I was trying to hurry to answer the phone. Something told me it was you."

"It's not a good thing when you can predict my calls."

"How long have we been doing this now..? Comes with the territory, my friend. Well, what do you have?"

Batman proceeded to summarize the findings that he had, most of those, theories that Gordon himself was working on.

"Did you know that someone had transferred fifteen thousand dollars to Kerrington's account just a few days before her disappearance and murder?"

"Then it is as I suspected and she was part of the plot to try to kill Nigma."

"What about Harley's escape?"

"Perfect timing, but I think she did this on her own. Do you have an autopsy report on the nurse's death?"

"I picked it up this morning. It is somewhere in this mountain of files." Gordon grabbed the bundle of files he had brought this morning. "Expecting something?"

"I expect it to be poison and a poison I can track, like Joker venom.

"The Joker involved in the nurse's attack?

"And probably Nigma's as well. I just have a very strong feeling that what we've seen of Joker so far is only the tip of the iceberg."

"I know Joker and Nigma hate each other, but why try to kill him at the Asylum? What would he gain from it?"

"Not sure. Trying to figure that one out myself, but I know the nurse and the intern are related. The intern's file was uploaded by remote access and contained a bug to destroy them when no longer useful. A bug that was inserted professionally through the email attachments, at the same time the intern was granted lot of clearance; more than I would expect for a newcomer. It makes me think that she was a set up to maybe aid the nurse on attacking Nigma, and my first suspect would be a computer hacker like Garibaldi. He would need information on how things are handled from the inside of the Asylum and his boss, the Clown, is more than qualified to share the information. Makes me think Joker might have used the nurse to orchestrate his attack on the Riddler,"

"This becomes more complicated by the minute. Here it is… Let me see." Gordon read quickly over the file. "The cause of death was a severe anaphylactic reaction. They found the compound that caused the reaction in her house on a very expensive perfume bottle. The toxicology lab has identified at least three types of toxic substances in solution. They appear to work synergistically when in contact with human skin and the reaction is very violent and fulminating, but delayed, depending on the metabolism of the person."

"Not the usual Joker venom?"

"No, no Joker venom. Disappointed?"

"A little. Joker is not only changing his ways but also even changing his poisons. I wonder if it is the same poison that killed the courier at the station. Make sure we get a copy of that toxicology report. "

"I will, and I will also ask the laboratory to run a chemical comparison between this toxins and Joker venom. That could be our missing link, but why would the clown give someone that much money to someone he was going to kill? It makes no sense. Joker is not exactly in position to give away money, is he?"

"Investigate the transfer in detail. Knowing Garibaldi, he could have forged the transfer, making it look like a real money transaction. I would be very surprised if you find money from that transfer. I think this was a nice piece computer hacking done by Blip."

"If Joker wanted Nigma dead, why go through this complicated plot? Too many people involved to kill one man, don't you think? Joker's have never been this complicated and is definitely not funny."

"No, it's not funny, but Joker hasn't been funny lately. The plot is going to become even more complicated when we add a new player. I need you to investigate the lawyer that visited Edward Nigma the day before. "

"Larry Wilde? I already did and I can tell you that he is not a lawyer. We searched all over the state for a lawyer with that name and not even the federal regulatory commission has ever issued a license for this Larry Wilde to practice in this country. As a matter of fact, we couldn't find anybody with that name, a person with that name has never existed."

"How was he able to slip through Arkham security?"

"He had credentials, and a lot of them. He had an impressive resume that checked out nicely without raising any suspicions. And he also had a letter from Oliver Bruffor, to take Nigma's case temporarily. Obviously we didn't ask enough questions about Mr. Wilde."

"Or maybe Garibaldi set his curriculum vitae…Interesting. Now I'm almost sure that this so-called lawyer is involved with Joker but I still don't know in which way. If only we could find out where he is, maybe he will have Joker's location."

"Could it be so simple? That Joker is behind everything?"

"Could be, but there is still the question as to why. I am having some…"Batman made an intentional pause. It was hard to see himself saying these words, "…drawbacks trying to predict the clown's behavior lately. He's not acting as he normally would. His humor is not quite what is used to be to say the least."

"I know. From the witnesses transcripts the Joker's behavior was extremely unusual when he robbed that chip at Wayne's Tech. I think he is trying to get us really confused."

"No, I don't think so . There is something wrong with Joker, and I can't put my finger on it yet, but the Clown is not his usual self. I'll continue searching for the pieces of the puzzle and keep you informed. In the meantime, I need a favor from you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker's car turned into the small street and he quickly noted the UPS truck parked in front of the house. It was time for phase two of the delivery.

"Daddy's here boys. Take off." He said over his cell phone and two deliverymen exited the house, one of them was carrying a child in his arms. Joker's car parked behind the delivery truck, and upon closer inspection he noted that the deliveryman with the baby turned out to be a woman. He smiled and touched the brim of his hat at the woman in brown shirt and shorts as she was hurried to the truck by the other UPS employee. As she passed him by she held very tightly to the child, as if to prevent any contact between him and the toddler. That was the problem these days, he thought, overprotective mothers didn't allow children to experience the world on their own.

"You know what to do with them." Joker said solemnly while he walked over to the entrance of the house where he was received by Harold. Removing his fedora and his black scarf he walked over to the living room where a man in his late fifties and his underwear was securely tied up and guarded by two of his men. The Joker's pasty white complexion beamed with happiness. He gave the man a military hand salute and a large smile. Blip was following very close.

"Brigadier Ritz, I presume."

"You must be The Joker. Where are you taking my family?"

"A little trip around the block, nothing to worry about." Joker smiled wide whirling a finger in the air. "I don't think they needed to hear our little conversation. National security, you see." The Clown whispered the last wordsas if they were a secret of state.

"I'll warn you Joker, if you harm my family I'm going to have your head in a platter."

"The threats…," he responded putting the back of his hand against his forehead. "Korean war…Vietnam war…That's the problem with you military people. You never know when to quit bullying around." Joker advanced a few steps until he stood in front of the general, and kicked the brigadier forcefully on the chest, tipping him and the chair to the floor. The Clown giggled and bent over the sitting man on the still attatched to the chair, with a large smile. "Let me tell you something about bullies, my friend. You might be used to giving orders around, but here, I make the rules, and mine are very simple. First, cooperate and I will join you with your family; second, do not lie to me or I will cut your tongue out and bring your family back in pieces…very tiny pieces if I may add… and last but not least…don't worry, be happy, and come on, man …smile. Life is too short to not smile." The Clown Prince of Crime started to laugh softly; the brigadier general just growl from his chair.

"What do you want from me?" The brigadier asked as two of Joker's men helped put the chair back up.

Joker clasped his hands behind him and started pacing slowly in front of the general with a large smile. "A little green man told me that you have access to a computer network I need to log on and that you might help me get through the firewall into the network."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Ritz retorted with eyes filled with fury.

"Really?" Joker eyed the general from the corner of his eye. "Does the name Edward Nigma have any meaning for you? And maybe project Star Wars is sounding familiar by now."

"Maybe, but I definitely don't know you…so why don't you and your entourage of clowns go to hell." Joker giggled and behind him, Michael cooed.

"Wrong answer, _mi general_." Joker grabbed his phone and dialed in a number. "Oh, hi Gabriel, How're our guests? …Good. Do me a favor, will you? Get the kid and chop off a few fingers off his little hand for me… any hand, I don't care…just cut them in very tiny pieces and make sure it hurts, OK?" Joker could be heard laughing softly as he walked away from Ritz.

The general lunged forward against his binds. He just wanted to wrap his hands around that white thin neck and hear it crack. His family was in danger, at the mercy of a homicidal maniac. He could just not sit there and allow any harm come to his family, but this was the Joker, and Joker loved to inflict harm. His family… Ritz fought against his ropes as tears started to flow. "No, Joker, please…I'll do whatever you want."

"Hold on Gab, someone's talking to me." Joker set the phone over his chest and turned to the general. His face grinning maliciously with that carved smile on his lips. "Having a change of heart, sir?"

"Yes. Just please… don't hurt him. Leave my family in peace and I'll cooperate with you. I'll do anything you want me."

"Everything I want…Hmm. Interesting." The Clown's smile widened and he laughed softly. "Would you dance the Macarena for me?"

"What?" Ritz would have sworn he didn't hear right.

"You military people have no sense of humor whatsoever, but don't worry; I will show you how to smile…All right. I will not hurt him…" "…yet…as long as you help me that is; he, he. Delete that order, Gab. Talk to…Gab? Gab, are you there?" Joker shook the phone. One wide sinister smile ran across the Clown's face. "Damn! The network dropped …lousy mobile service..." Joker, laughing now very loudly, put his phone away and let himself comfortably on a chair facing the brigadier. "I hope he got my message in time… Joker saw as Ritz clenched his fists tightly on the chair armrest. The Clown Prince smiled happily. "He probably did…well mon general, let's have a little heart-to-heart conversation about the Nation's future."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Gordon you shouldn't have allowed this."

"It's part of an investigation Mr. Donner. Perfectly legal." The commissioner answered trying to remain calm. It was not the first time that a blue-collar lawyer wanted to interfere with an investigation, but this time he was trying to interfere with Batman. "That's why you're here."

"I'm their lawyer, I should be in there." Donner said pointing at the interrogation room where Batman was interrogating one of the Leopards. The man being interrogated, probably on his late twenties, did not seem too fond of the conversation for he was trying very hard to back away from the man with the black cape. Nightwing was speaking with another Leopard at the other end of the large table, but that man was more concerned on making sure the crazy bat didn't want to talk to him.

"The Batman conducts his interrogations according to protocol, Mr. Donner" said Gordon. "We wouldn't have it any other way." Batman slammed a fist against the table in the room, and a chair came sliding on the floor to stop in front of the false mirror in front of him. The Leopard interrogated by Batman was now leaning precariously against the table, cowering from the tall black winged menace that threatened to engulf him whole.

"_You have no idea who you're dealing with…"_ Gordon heard the Batman yell to the cringing man. _"This monster will blow your head off with a wild smile on his face and laugh while your brains ooze out of your skull."_

"Gordon," said Donner trying to regain the Commissioner's attention from the Batman. "I don't think this fits protocol in any way. I want that Bat and his sidekick out of the interrogation room now, until I can have a word with my clients.

"The Batman is…in the middle of the interrogation, Mr. Donner. It will be in a moment." Gordon put a hand over his mouth and started to comb his moustache as he heard Batman again.

"_Listen to me Zack. You give me a name, a place, and I promise your safety. Nobody will touch you, not even the Joker. If you don't help me stop this lunatic from murdering innocent people, I can't protect you. I need you to share information with me…where is the Grand Snow Leopard?"_

_"I don't know anything about this Joker, man and I haven't even met the Snow Leopard, just heard Jake say he had given us the city. He's the one who has spoken to the Snow Leopard. Just…just get off me, OK?"_ The Batman lifted the cowering Leopard and sat him on the chair by the wall in front of Gordon. The detective slammed his gloved hand against the thick glass.

_"You better not be lying to me, Zack…where can I find this Jake?"_

"Gordon!" Donner's voice came like a ringing bell. "Are you listening to me at all?"

"Of course I'm listening, Mr. Donner." Gordon said as the Batman started to interrogate the other punk. Buying time for the Batman to interrogate the gang members was becoming more difficult. How long could he hold Donner back, until he himself was infringing the law? The Dark Detective was taking too long…"I think I'll talk to the Batman, you need some time with your clients." Gordon started to walk to the door to the interrogation room when the Batman stormed out. "Batman, Mr. Donner wants a word with his clients…"

"They are entirely his, Commissioner." Nightwing followed the Caped Detective and both crime fighters walked over to Gordon. "I got the information I needed to get those Leopards out of the picture. I would like to ask for the Department's help if possible."

Gordon nodded to Donner and joined the Caped Detective and Nightwing who had started down the hall towards the elevator. Donner took the opportunity to sneak through into the interrogation room and approach his clients. Zack was still sitting on the chair by the wall, looking dumbfounded at what had just happened and a police officer approached him. The other Leopard was being shackled by a tall black skin cop. "That bat is crazy, man," said the handcuffed Leopards obviously shaken. "And who the hell is this Joker that has him so fuzzed up?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Barbara was running some files on her console when Black Canary entered the room.

"Hey girl, working hard I see. What you're up to?"

"I'm filtering some of the video from Arkham to find a mysterious intern." Barbara moved the video a few

sequences at a time, in slow motion.

"Is that the investigation you're running for Batman about the Joker?

"Uhm-hum."

Dinah walked over the computer console where Barbara Gordon was working and looked into the monitor. Barbara was playing the video of the intern's run through the asylum frame by frame. Oracle had isolated some of the frames from the movie for further analysis. "Is she related to your Clown?"

"Very much likely…her name, Erith Rubeck, probably comes from the scientific name for the red-breasted Robin."

"Robin…You're obsessed with the Clown and the Clown is obsessed with Robins, and you are dating an ex-Robin… I'm starting to see a pattern emerging here." Barbara gave Black Canary an evil stare, the corner of her mouth curling upwards with a smile. "Hm…Barb, you still like the Four Aces?"

"Yes," said Barbara concentrating her attention on the computer screen in front of her. "Why?"

"Well, is that I got these tickets for their concert and was wondering…" Dinah said looking innocently.

"You got tickets for the Four Aces? Wow!! I heard that the tickets sold out the day they went on sale."

"They did. My boyfriend had already bought two tickets for the concert this upcoming week, but he ruptured an Achilles tendon playing basketball and he can't go so he told me I could use the tickets as I pleased and since I know you also like the group…"

"I'm sorry Dinah, but I don't think I'll be able to make it."

"Come on, Barbara. The Bat works you too hard. I'm sure your investigation is gonna benefit from you taking a little break. Get your mind off the screens forget about green hair, white ghostly faces for a while, get a little air and enjoy the best band of alternative rock in the whole world. Woop, woop, woop! And it's only one night, what harm can it do?"

"Dinah, really…" 

"Please,girl. Consider it a short sabbatical, you'll return recharged. It's just one night, and who knows when they're going to perform again in Gotham." Barbara looked at Dinah tenderly. She was like a girl with her favorite doll, eyes sparkled and nobody could erase that wide happy smile off her face. Barbara also loved the Aces as much as Dinah did; and even had all their recordings including the imports. It will be great if she could take some time off, just for a little while, take her mind off this investigation for a few hours and the Four Aces concert was an unexpected bonus, but this was important…

"Dinah, this investigation is taking most of my free time…" Barbara said looking at Black Canary who was staring back at her with the look on her face that said '_see I told you, girl'_.

"U-hum?"

Then Barbara realized what she had said… all her free time… when was the time she had some free time? She couldn't even remember, and the truth was that she was at a dead end on the Joker investigation. Even the videotapes were not yielding a clue. Could it really be that she was just too tired to see the patterns, the clues, and the solution to the enigmatic behavior of the Joker? Maybe she needed a rest after all, even if it was for a little while. It couldn't hurt.

"All right Dinah, I'll go. Just for a few hours."

"Way to go, girl. We are going to have so much fun… I'll come for you about six."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Thanks for your cooperation, Brigadier," said Joker grabbing his hat while he was getting ready to leave. "Your country will definitely remember your sacrifice. I know this was really hard, believe me, we know about sacrifice." The Brigadier did not answer, and Joker did not expect him to, because dead people couldn't talk back, and the brigadier was definitely very dead since he had a small hole on his forehead oozing blood and who knows what else; all that over a very large smile from ear to ear. He'll just have to finish the conversation for the general.

"What is it? Your welcome, sir, after all I promised you'll be back with your family didn't I? Just one happy family, together forever and ever; I'm a man of my word." Joker grinned and his forest green eyes sparkled.

Blip joined the boss in the living room. Neo was beside him checking a box with flash disks.

"I think it'll be better if we take the whole CPU."

"Blip don't be rude, did you ask the Brigadier for his equipment?" Joker was trying to hold a chortle. "At least thank him for your precious codes that he so willingly shared with us."

Blip looked at the Brigadier's body. Stiff as a board and the wide smile on his face was unmistakably the sign of Joker venom and a bullet in the cranium. The man was dead. There was nothing to say to a dead person. Michael looked at the Boss suspiciously; the Clown held the lapel of his brown jacket and sported a triumphant smile. "Er… no…should I?" Michael saw the Joker frown. "I mean…the guy is dead, right?"

"You're right, Blip. What the heck! He's not going to need them, anyways." Joker shrugged and let a very loud cackle. "But still you need to show some respect so…SALUTE!"

Joker did the military salute and eyed Blip who was just looking at him lost in space. The Clown frowned and Blip saluted as well. A large smile appeared on the Joker' face.

"That's enough, my young lieutenant, at ease!" Joker started to giggle.

"Good." Blip signaled Harold to follow him with the CPU to the van, looking strangely at the boss. He was having too much fun. "We are taking the whole unit then."

"Come on boys, we don't have all day. Remember…I don't want a single speck out of place in this house. They should not know that I've been here…" AS SIMPLE AS THAT? JUST LEAVE? WHAT ABOUT THE SMILE…SILLY… HOW WILL YOU EXPLAIN THAT BEAUTIFUL SMILE…"Oh, I don't care! Just burn this place to the ground…including my dead friend here…Baked Brigadier on Joker juice…Ummm-hummm!" Joker tapped on his belly and started laughing uncontrollably.

Elliot and Harold were coming down the stairs with two bags each, filled with valuables from the rooms upstairs, while two Leopards whose name escaped the Joker's memory walked out from the kitchen. It was time to split. One thing Joker had learned from showbiz is that you can't push your luck on stage and sometimes a prompt retreat was a lot better than overkill. There would be time later for a little more entertainment.

He put his hat back on, walking to the door where he stopped for a moment. The Clown Prince turned his head to the side until he could see the general's corpse from the corner of his eye. "Sorry I can't stay for the bonfire, _mi generalissimo_. Duty calls…I'm preparing the mother of all fireworks and need to get going. Please be kind enough to write and let me know if you and your family liked it…oh that's right…they went to the lake for a swim." Joker giggled playfully as he exited the house, and a chilly breeze made the hair on the back of his head stand on end; winter was arriving early to Gotham. He took the scarf from his pocket and wrapped around his neck, making sure his well renowned facial features were away from curious eyes. There was no need to be tied with this incident just yet. He saw his men boarding the equipment on the van, and behind the van, a black Buick was waiting with a Leopard at the wheel. He grinned. Blip had thought of everything, including an inconspicuous car for the getaway.

The cold forced Joker put his hands on his pockets where he felt the tiny bag with the gems along with his grenades. _Not those diamonds again_—he thought sighing deeply. Then he was overwhelmed by that feeling of lack of air again, and the pain deep in his chest, no, more of a pressure crushing his ribcage top to bottom took a grab of him. He tried to take deep breaths but getting air was an effort. He felt like there was a big boulder on top of his chest. Was he getting sick? It was like having a severe asthma attack. Could it be it? Was his heart starting to fail? No, that was impossible, he had never suffered from asthma and he wasn't that old, but the truth was that right now he felt like he was eighty. So weary, so old. He should have listened to Blip when he suggested he rested before this visit to the Brigadier, but he had started to get scared of going to sleep these days…God only knows what nightmares the clown could be planning with the sole purpose of torturing him. The Clown could be very mean. That was funny…he was starting to get scared of himself, but it's that he was capable of horrible things…very horrible things. The Clown Prince chuckled and slowly walked to the car when Blip approached him.

"Mind if I join you, sir? The van is kind of crowded."

"I need to run some errands of my own, but I need you to finish the details for my little program. Have Elliott join me, and you get back home with the boys. I shouldn't take long and when I return, we are going to send this city on the death ride of a lifetime." Michael looked disappointed and Joker extended a hand over Blip's shoulder. His eyes unusually soft and weary, and above all he looked sincerely concerned. "Put on a happy face, Michael. Your work is the single most important thing in my life right now. It's the only thing that… still puts a smile on my face these days."

Blip nodded with a soft smile, and at the same time filled with surprise. This was the first time the Boss had ever called him not by his hacker name, but by his real name…and the way he spoke. So calm and at the same time so sad.

"I'll see you at the hideout, sir. Just be safe." The Clown Prince patted Blip softly on the face…still smiling; Joker was somehow different, but Michael couldn't figure out if this was a good or a bad thing. Blip opened the door of the sedan for the boss and headed back for the van. Elliott jumped out of the van and walked over to the Buick. Joker got in the back of the Buick, taking the gems out of his pocket.

"Where now, boss?" asked Elliot taking to the man in the back seat. The Clown Prince didn't answered and Elliott looked through the rear view mirror to the Joker sitting in the back. The Clown was lost looking at something in his hands very attentively. "Boss?"

"Gotham Gardens Cemetery." Joker responded dryly without lifting his eyes.

"What was that…?" Elliot said turning around to look at the Clown. Joker's eyes never left the small precious stones he was playing with in his hand.

"You heard me, Gotham Gardens Cemetery. " Joker let out a deep sigh. "Just drive."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nightwing and Batgirl were already on top of the roof of the bar before the police cars started arriving. The two Leopards in custody that he and the Batman had the chance to interrogate were not too forthcoming on information on who the Grand Snow Leopard was, but in exchanged offered a lot of information about the gathering place of the rest of the gang. Someone in there had to know, and the sooner they dismantle the gang and cage the Snow Leopard, the sooner they can put an end to Joker, Garibaldi, and his plans. Dick prayed that the Grand Snow Leopard would be there that same night to finally give a blow to the Clown. If Bruce was right, and Joker was the Snow Leopard, this coul be the end of the Jester's reign of terror. Batgirl patted Nightwing on the shoulder then signaled to the main entrance where a tall woman dressed in a tight black body suit and boots, wearing a black denim jacket was leaving the bar.

"Batman…," said Nightwing to the microphone on his headpiece

"I see her," answered the Dark Knight through the communicator, "looks like the lady at Wayne Tech the other day. I need to have a little talk with that lady." The woman in black stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked around as if searching for someone or something. She tried to continue her walk, when she swayed a little to the right forcing her to regain her balance against a wall. A blonde man, on his early twenties, wearing the same black clothes and riding a large Harley Davidson approached her. They exchanged a few words and the woman laughed and lost her balance again momentarily. She giggled. The man on the bike offered her a shiny leopard print helmet that she put over her head at the same time she mounted behind him. "Damn." Batman whispered over the communicator as he saw both bikers sped away.

"I can intercept her," said Batgirl getting ready for action.

"No, Cass. Let her go. " Batman said with obvious disappointment in his voice. He really wanted to set the record straight with that woman. "There are more inside, maybe even the Snow Leopard himself if we are lucky, "and we'll need all the help we can get. If you move now, we'll loose the element of surprise. We'll see her again later."

The patrol cars started arriving one after the other, parking a few streets from the bar. Officers from Gordon's elite special task force were getting ready for the assault, loading weapons and putting on armored vests and helmets. Nightwing saw Gordon's vehicle arrive and after leaving the car, started giving instructions to the officers. He reached for his communicator unit then answered his cell phone.

"The party is about to start…and some Leopards are going to get their butt kicked."

"Gordon is about ready. We'll get in first and ask some questions. The police will follow us in about twenty minutes. It's not much so make it count."

"Understood," answered Nightwing taking out his grappler. "You ready, Cass?" There was no answer from behind and Dick looked back. He was alone in the rooftop. Batgirl had decided to take matters into her own and go after the Leopard girl even after Batman clearly told her to stay still and stick to the plan. "I can't believe it…this is not good, Cass, not good." Nightwing fired his grapple, swung to the target building and contacted the Dark Knight. "Hm…Batman. I think we have a problem."

* * *

There you have it friends, let me know how you like it. Will be waiting to hear from you all. (Isabel AKA Jokerlady...always wanted to say that...HE HE). 


	23. Gotham Cemetery Reunion

_**Author's Note**: This chapter is the first of two that have a very special meaning for me...Without giving anything away all the story have been spiraling to this moment and from here on it is a down hill trip. Read and be your own judge. Hope you like it. Dear readers and fellow writers...if you have just enjoyed the story to this point...good, my mission is accomplished. Now I need your feedback on this chapter...so get your fingers over the keyboard and please share with me the good, the bad and the ugly. I want to know if this trip was worth it...you are the only ones who can tell me. Now enjoy the chapter..._

Disclaimer1: Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS

Disclaimer2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and MATURE SITUATIONS. Reader's discretion is adviced

CHAPTER 23: GOTHAM GARDEN CEMETERY REUNION

Dick was exhausted. The last few days have been intensive, and reviewing the case with Bruce had extended way passed his regular bedtime, and probably his bedtime in several other time zones. This case was starting to get complicated at every turn. Joker with his strange and unusual behavior, Nigma's attack at the asylum and the attack on Selina and Tim, where making Batman edgy and grouchy. Dick couldn't blame the Dark Detective from feeling this way, after all, the clown had crossed the line when he decided to attack people so close to the Batman. Joker was playing with fire and if the clown couldn't be stopped soon, Dick couldn't predict the way Bruce was going to react to the Joker…he might even consider murder.

Dick entered the parking lot of the strip mall and slowly parked his motorcycle by the coffee shop. had always be his favorite place in Gotham to hang out with friends ever since he was still under Bruce's wing. The place had started just as a regular coffee shop some years ago, then the tables were added for the people to meet and share while enjoying a good cup of coffee, and lately they had installed modules and a WIFI network that allowed the clients present to enjoy the benefit of a reliable internet connection. Rosy, the owner of the shop was a tall bronze skin Hispanic woman on her late thirties, and she had grown very fond Dick. Both will join in long conversations of every imaginable subject along with a tall Mocha with an extra shot of Espresso and whipped cream.

Today he needed that coffee more than ever. He was tired, and though his body asked for a bed and a soft pillow, he had more important things to do. He was in the case with Batman and he was going to help in the interrogatory of the Leopard gang members later that afternoon. Dick entered the shop and was pleased that Rosy was at the counter. He hoped she would remember him…

"The usual, Dick?" She said sporting a smile that seemed to re-energize Nightwing's body.

"You remembered," Dick said with a smile. "Yes, Rosy, but put two espresso shots on that one…no wait….put three."

"Ohh, had a long night?"

"Yep…and more ahead of me."

Rosy started to prepare Dick's order. "What are you working on?"

Dick appreciated Rosy's friendship, but information about his line of work was something he wasn't prepared to share now. "Ahh, nothing. Just helping a friend with a Doctoral Dissertation. There's just too much to research, you know?"

"What is the dissertation on?" Rosy pressed on and Dick forced a smile.

"Criminal Law…" Nightwing just hoped he was a good liar.

Rosy acknowledged with a soft bobbing of the head as she served Dick his coffee. "Yes, that can be a complicated and dry subject. God Bless for the coffee break between books, huh?"

Dick laughed softly, paid for his coffee and took a sip of his brew. Rosy's attention shifted to the group of costumers that had started to aggregate in front of her counter. Nightwing held the cup against his nose and inhaled the wonderful aroma of Arabica beans and chocolate. That should wake him up. He looked behind him and noticed that the shop had started to fill up very quickly. At the entrance, he saw a short, chubby figure in ragged jeans and an old Rolling Stones T-shirt. His head was covered with a NY Yankees baseball cap, but Dick could still see the blond hair underneath as well as the round rimmed spectacles on his wide face. That guy looked familiar…

The man entered silently into the coffee shop and walked hastily to the far end where two computers were set for costumers and he sat on a chair in the corner next to the computers. He opened the backpack he was carrying, pulled out a laptop and turned it on after setting it over his legs. The man let the backpack fall beside him and looked up meeting with Dick's insistent gaze. Yes, that is he…Garibaldi. He remembered the hacker from the mugshot Batman had showed him.

Nightwing lifted his coffee mug as a greeting and Blip looked around him nervously. Dick turned around and continued sipping on his coffee, without putting much attention on the fat hacker. God…could this be true? Garibaldi here in the coffee shop? Arresting him will be a breakthrough. Dick tried to keep the hacker under surveillance without obviously staring at the young man. In the shop, he noticed that someone approached Garibaldi and stood in front of the hacker interfering with Dick's point of view.

Who was that guy, an acquaintance? Maybe a fellow hacker or a close friend. He needed to know, it might be important. Dick wanted to come closer to the hacker…listen to the conversation he was having with this person, but staring and prodding this guy might just scare him, and he might loose him. Nightwing slowly turned to the side, making sure he still made eye contact with the two pair. He needed to get closer…so Dick rose from the chair and started to walk over to the computers in the corner without looking directly at the hacker. The computers were in use and there was no way he would be able to sit there to listen. He started to walk slowly around them heading back towards the front counter when he saw Garibaldi playing something on the laptop…the man in front of him, red headed, freckled cheeks and square Matrix style sunglasses was looking around inquisitively. Blip was smiling. What could make the hacker smile like that? Did the redheaded man told him something…no, maybe gave him something that he was now looking at in his laptop. That was something that might help him locate Joker.

Dick stopped momentarily halfway in his trip to fake looking at the picture of a NY city skyline that was on the wall. He needed to be able to listen to the hacker but the only noise coming from the duo was the quick ticking sound made bye Blip's fast typing at his keyboard. Dick saw Garibaldi get something from his back pack…a card…a credit card? It was small and the redheaded man quickly took his from his hand and placed it safely in one his jean pockets. Could that be the payment?

Garibaldi closed his laptop and placed it back on his bag. Then man that had been with him started to walk to the front desk as if the encounter didn't happen…no words were exchanged, and no farewells. Blip rose from the chair heading out of the shop…Dick quickly dropped his cup on the trash and followed behind the hacker. Man, if he only had a chance to enjoy that cup.

Blip had swung the bag on his back and was walking very fast between the people in the sidewalk. He then made a sudden turn and entered a long alley at the same hasty pace. Dick arrived at the alley and saw Garibaldi's lone figure walking through the alley. He couldn't go back to get his bike, or he could lose Garibaldi, and he needed to act fast and intercept. The hacker was probably not alone and could have a whole army of men waiting for him and Nightwing was by himself. Dick entered the alley and advanced enough to keep a good look on the hacker then knelt over some large wooden frames that were set against the wall of the building bordering the throughway. Time to change strategy.

Blip walked in long strides, his face looking down to the ground brooding in the material he had just gotten his hands on when he heard a rustle behind him. He turned nervously to see behind him and confirmed that no one was following him. The alley was empty behind him. Blip looked up; not bad to be too cautious…nothing. He secured that bag over his back and pulling down the rim of his baseball cap, started to walk again while looking over his shoulder every so often.

"Long time no see, chubby…" said a voice reverberating in the emptiness of the alley like it was coming from another realm. Garibaldi started to pant and sprinted at full speed when something grabbed him by the leg making him stumble. Blip fell flatly onto the floor scraping his chin on the process. He tried to get up to start running again when a strong hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him against the wall.

"Hey I don't have any money, man," Garibaldi squealed trying to identify who had pushed him with so much force but in the darkness of the alley all shades were the same hue of gray.

"I don't want your money Blip, I want information" Garibaldi heard the voice coming from somewhere in front of him. There in front of his eyes, he saw a dark shadow in human form, the shadow seemed to wear a gleaming blue design over his chest.

"I d-don't have an-ny of that eit-ther. Please let me go." Blip was really terrified now.

"Really? And why is it that every time I think of you…Joker comes to my mind?" Dick heard Blip swallow hard. "Do you know anything about a psychotic clown on the loose?"

"N-no, I don't."

Nightwing threw an uppercut that hit the hacker squarely on the face making him loose his glasses. Another fist connected with the base of his stomach and a third one made Garibaldi's head spin like a carrousel. The hacker fell to the floor on his knees. "Did that jug your memory now, Blip? I know you're working for the Clown."

"Oh, God …You have to believe me…when I tell you… that I don't know anything about the Joker…" Garibaldi replaced his now twisted eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose and winced in pain as a pair of hands lifted him from the ground and pushed him against the wall again. This time the hacker was able to see the masked face and recognized the crime fighter they called Nightwing. Blip knew he was in deep trouble.

"Don't give me that crap, Blip. I know you're Joker's hacker and man…you're in deep shit. You know how many people have died because of you?

"I don't know what you're talking about…I don't know anything about hacking and…I have killed no one."

"You really think for a moment that because you didn't pull the trigger you were going to get away?" Nightwing saw Garibaldi's eyes wide with terror. "Blip, you are as guilty as that clown, because you've allowed him to go on killing innocent people…you have even aided him to murder people. You make me sick."

"L-listen Birdboy, I d-don't know why you don't believe me but your Pa knows that yes, I've b-been selling some of Joker's property but I am not dealing with the Joker. He's too unpredictable." Nightwing slammed his fist across Blip's face with so much force that he broke the eyeglasses. The metal rim broke in half and one of the lenses cracked and fell to the ground in pieces. Garibaldi held onto the two halves of his glasses before they hit the floor and spoke in a very sad pleading voice, stuttering as he always did when he was nervous. "Ah man…L-look what you d-did. T-that was a new pair…"

"If you think Joker is unpredictable…wait until Batman has a word with you. He will squeeze the answers out of you like it's orange juice. "

"Like you're d-doing now?" Blip's remark sounded sarcastic. Dick took the glasses off the hacker's hands and toss them far into the alley.

"No, I'm asking nicely…," retorted Nighwing with a growl grabbing the hacker forcibly by the shirt.… "Now, where…is the Joker? And don't give me that crap about you dealing on Joker's things…neither Batman nor I believe a word of that now."

Blip cleaned his face with his arm, and noted that his mouth was bleeding; he tasted the coppery and salty flavor of his own blood and tears started to flow. "Oh man…he's g-gonna k-kill me. If he knows I'm helping y-you or the B-bat he's going to blow my head off."

"If you give me what I want…I'll make sure he doesn't touch you."

"No, y-you don't understand…he's c-crazy, out of his mind and even if you lock 'im up, he's gonna have m-me k-killed like Phil. Don't you see? He can k-kill by remote control, just as with Iago, Harley … He smiles and someone d-dies…I don't want to be the next." Garibaldi let himself limp and slowly slid to the floor "Look at the trouble that c-clown has caused me." The hacker sank his face in his arms and sobbed. Blip seemed more terrified of Joker than of Nightwing, what kind of threats and abuses have this man gone through at the Clown's hands.

"Michael, tell me where I can find Joker, and end this madness. Redeem yourself." Nightwing said kneeling by the hacker.

"You p-promise he'll not find me...?" Michael said between sobs.

"I promise..."

"C-can I have witness immunity?"

"That's not for me to decide that Blip, but if you help me, I'll put a good word for you..."

Blip snorted. "Alright. It's all here." Garibaldi said reaching for his backpack. "In m-my computer. All his p-plans…" Michael tried to pry open the zipper on his backpack but without success. Nightwing put a hand over the backpack and another over the hacker's shoulder.

"Blip…leave the details for the police…I just need to know where is the Joker hiding now."

"But...his p-plans."

"Michael, please…just tell me how I can get to him."

"The hideout…its booby t-trapped."

"Go on. Give me the details…"

Blip looked at Nightwing for a moment then lowered his gaze, shut his eyes forcefully as pushed the crime fighter's hand off his shoulder.

"OK…I'll t-tell you. Just give me some space, man." Garibaldi finally said with a deep sigh. He held his backpack firmly between his hands. "Damn! Just do it…be a man." Blip grabbed the bag and slammed it against the ground producing a thick cloud of smoke. "Fuck you, birdboy. See y-you in hell." Nightwing extended a hand and was able to hold onto Garibaldi's backpack. Blip pulled with all his might and after a ripping sound Nighwing was left with only the outer pocket of the bag in his hand and Garibaldi running away again.

"Oh no you don't…you sneaky son of a bitch…" Nighwing said going after the hacker who had turned to the left at the end of the alley. Dick ran with all his might, and started to catch up with the hacker. Blip was in no shape to keep running like that, and the idiot was leaving a cloud of smoke as he ran holding unto the backpack. Blip made a right turn into another alley and kept running and when Nightwing finally saw him again, he noticed that Garibaldi was getting rid of the backpack... he now held tightly to the laptop with his hands. Blip jumped on one of the cars parked into the alley and jumped off to one of the fire escape ladders climbing with great effort. Even from a few feet away, Nightwing could see the hacker huffing and puffing. Garibaldi reached the second floor and broke the window to the apartment by the ladder entering the residence; Nightwing was now going up the ladder.

"Don't do this Blip," Nightwing said as he got to the balcony. The couple that was inside the apartment watching TV screamed in terror as the hacker forced himself through the broken window, but Blip continued running through the living room until he reached the door. Nightiwng entered the apartment through the window and saw Garibaldi turn right at the open door. He rushed after the hacker. With large strides, he made a sharp turn at the door, but Garibaldi had disappeared…how? The fat hacker was in better shape than Dick ithought if he was able to outrun him…

Dick slowed down and started to try the doors along the hall. People started to peek out of their apartments to see who had caused so much commotion. Nightwing look around feeling the eyes of the onlookers against him. He stopped at the elevators and saw the doors to the stairs didn't close all the way. He walked in and listened carefully to anybody running the stairs without success, then saw a small a small amount of blood against the wall of the stairs going down; and there was a gunshot. Nightwing followed down the stairs carefully. These steps must get to the building's basement with no way out, and Blip had to be waiting for him with a gun. Dick moved slowly, trying not to make a sound. He reached the bottom and looked around at the maze of tubing and pipes that made the core of the building's inner workings. No sign of Garibaldi, but there were not that many places he could be hiding he was too big to squeeze between pipes and the wall, especially if he still carried that laptop with him. Then he saw the door on the far end of the room open, almost as if by its own free will.

Nightwing walked over to the door and saw that the lock had been blown out with a gun. He went through the door that led to a small set of stairs that reached up to street level. Looking around there was no sign of Garibaldi anywhere. Dick ran to the main street and looked both ways, there was not a single signed of anybody running from the scene. He reclined against the stoplight post…DAMN! The little nerd had vanished in front of his eyes. How could he have lost that fat son of a bitch so fast?

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was about six o'clock in the evening when they arrived to the cemetery, and it was starting to get as dark as midnight with no moon visible overhead. Joker did not like nights like this, because it was in nights as this that bats went out and hunted down helpless clowns that just wanted to have some fun.

"This is creepy, Boss. What are we doing here? Elliott asked with obvious concern in his voice. He did not feel comfortable in a cemetery this dark.

"Wait in the car, boys. This shouldn't take long." Joker said absentmindedly as he jumped out of the car cane in hand, and started to walk among the graves and mausoleums. "Why, why have you brought us here? We don't want to be here," he asked to himself, trying to reason with the urge that he felt to visit a cemetery, this particular cemetery. Everybody knew that cemeteries were not fun, and that dead people don't laugh. Well, not at least in the real world, because he remembered when he was very young liking digging on old tombs to find the bony remains of people and he was never disappointed in finding smiling skulls inside every coffin. That proved him that there was joy after death. That was then, and the games of a very imaginative kid…a kid that liked playing in cemeteries.

When he felt the gems in his pocket at the Brigadier's house, he had started to feel anxious, at the edge of a panic attack, with a pressure in his heart that felt more like a heart. A single fat diamond had triggered this feeling of despair. He needed to know why, and he needed to put that feeling at ease before he died…if indeed his end was near. He thought that his heart was going to give up at any moment and that the pressure in his chest would asphyxiate him, but now that horrible sensation of despair had subsided and a new feeling took over him.

This was different, he was not going to dig tombs tonight; and he was just not in the mood for anything funny at all. He was here because…those diamonds told him to. That sounded ridiculous, he knew that "…diamonds don't talk," he told himself but one of those diamonds in his pocket, the fat one with the surreal glow, had told him a curious little story about a couple in love. Jack and Jeannie were a lovely couple, and just thinking about the story made him feel something deep inside that he didn't remember feeling before, at least for a long time. Something warm and fuzzy. Was it joy? Funny, it was the same way he felt when he made a joke. Funny feeling…normally when he made a joke, someone had died in the process and this happiness was very short lived.

This was not the same, he felt warm, he felt alive and he was… happy, real happy and no one had to die; neither he felt the need to kill anybody. It was a very unusual feeling This happiness was not dependent on somebody else's blood and above all he felt as if he was part of it, experienced first hand; and he felt like he could carry this feeling with him forever, like being in love… He liked that feeling, he longed that feeling, and the image of the two lovers was something that seemed very close to him, thought the reason why was hidden in a thick mist in his brain through which he could see small separate episodes, like a saga, but the whole picture was still a mystery.

How could a memory like that bring two so contradictory emotions? Despair and peace; joy and pain. It was only painful when he was far away, but once he got here, it was like coming home. What was happening to him? What did this feeling meant? It was as if this diamond had called him to something he needed to see, to hear, to touch; and now that he was here, there was no reason to despair, to suffer, and now that his soul was nearby, there was no need to scream painfully at his heart for attention.

He saw the building that housed the crypts straight ahead and sped up invited by the beautiful ionic arcade, and magnificently sculpted angelical figures alongside the façade. Once inside the building, he saw the plaques on the long wall that seemed to extend forever. Dozens…maybe close to a hundred of plaques covered the walls, some of them by themselves and some others adorned with fresh flowers and plush teddy bears. Some of the plaques were clean and gleaming, while others were blackened my years of grime and abandonment. This place looked so unreal, like a dream, a very familiar dream…had he been here before?

The lamps were dim and probably just for atmosphere and minimal illumination, since the hall would be flooded by light during the day when the sun shone through the arcade making quite an spectacular light effect. At night, the light just needed to be enough to illuminate the hall for the cemetery security guard in his rounds, because people usually did not visit cemeteries this late at night. . He ran his gloved hand along the wall, reading the names on the large wall until after a few paces and three plaques below eye level a plaque got his attention. It was small, humble, and looked very old. The name engraved on the plaque had accumulated some grime and it was difficult to read. Joker searched up his sleeve, produced a knife and started scraping the plaque until he could read the name: Jeannette E. Cr….The last name was still difficult to read but the name is all he needed to recognize who it was in the crypt. It was a familiar name. It was a beautiful name…and so powerful that even pronouncing it could charge the soul with so much passion.

"Jean E…Jeannie," he whispered taking off his glove and placing a ghostly white hand over the plaque feeling the metallic coldness against it; the icy feeling of abandonment made him chill… "It's being a long time, love and I see you're not using my last name… Have I become a ghost in your past? Is there any remnant of me in there with you or I just never existed for you?"

He remembered the explosion, the fire, the vat of chemicals and his heart started racing. He felt a jolt of pain running from head to toe and instinctively pushed away from the tomb backing against one of the columns. He looked around and saw the shadow of a large Bat flying towards him. His eyes opened wide, the beast had come to finish him… and he ran for cover into the darkest corner of the building.

His heart was pounding in his chest. He was terrified… of a flying rodent? Since when…? It didn't make sense. True, he had never seen a bat so large in his entire life, but he knew no fear. That's why they called him Crazy Jack and everyone that knew him were terrified of him because he could snuff anyone with a large smile on his face. That was…

…until she came to his life. She was not afraid of him; instead, she would extend her hand, and with her soft touch, she could melt his cold heart; the anger will just give away to a deep sense of peace when she looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes. He felt his heart slow down. "Jeannie, do you even recognize the voice that calls your name in the darkness of this columbarium?" He said again closing his eyes and remembering those eyes as blue as the sky, just like his mother's. Angel eyes. "…my angel…my love."

Then everything turned red and he remembered the drowning, the acrid taste of the water, no, more like acid making him burn from the inside out. He remembered not wanting to die… but dying nonetheless.

"_Gasp! Agh!" He coughed when he reached the surface. The water was burning his skin, and eyes and he must have swallowed some of that guck when he fell because he could feel the same burning sensation in his entrails. He flapped his arms trying to stay afloat but there was something dragging him down forcefully, and he went underwater again. Jack paddled hard against the current, but it was useless, he was too weak, and the stupid helmet he was wearing was making it more difficult for him to see where he was going. He stopped swimming, and the current quickly took him through a labyrinth of pipes._

_It wasn't long until he got the urge to breathe again, but he was spent; he just wanted everything to end, but he thought of Jeannie, all alone, expecting his son, and the image got to him. 'Try once more, Jack, for her, for them. You're not a quitter, are you?' he thought. He gathered strength from their image and with all his might, he pushed the helmet off his head and started to paddle again. If he could only see where he was going… The water was stinging his eyes and preventing him from opening them more than a few seconds at a time. He felt very light for an instant and then felt a large drop diving into a much larger container. The water calmed down, and there was no more pulling at his feet. _

"_Ack! Ughn," Jack finally broke the surface of the water and was able to gulp a good amount of fresh air. He was panting heavily but still afloat and everything was so dark and fuzzy that he could hardly see the shore just a few meters ahead. His eyes were still stinging, and his skin felt like it was on fire._

_He paddled slowly…he was exhausted and at reaching over the end of the pond, he quickly climbed on shore, and boy, solid ground had never felt this good. He removed his trench coat and his vest and rolled on the ground. The burning sensation in his skin subsided quickly as he started to drip the dark, murky water into the grassy shore. He made an effort to stand but his legs were too weak to support his weight and he fell on his knees. He coughed and threw up some of the mucky water; who knows how much of that he had ingested and what that could do to him. He tried to crawl without much success and he fell on his face over the edge of the pond. Jack quickly pulled away from the slimy black water and he saw a ghostly face reflected on the surface; pale as a corpse with the corners of the mouth pulled in a hideous grin. It was a horrible face, looking at him with an evil smile and a perverse stare; much like the ones he had seen in nightmares before, laughing at him, but from where? He looked around and behind him unable to see anybody when he realized his hands were very pale except for the dark colored nails. Those nails looked green against the glare from the few lights that illuminated the pond. Green? Jack took off his vest and rolled the sleeves of his shirt to reveal the same bleached skin; he checked his chest his legs, all the same white pasty white color as the monster's image reflected in the pond. The monster in the pond... He peered over the pond tentatively and saw the reflection again and Jack realized this was not the image of a monster, but an image of himself. He touched his face. Something had gone wrong, very wrong…_

"_Oh, God, no. No. What happened?" he said clawing at his face in an effort to restore it to some degree of normalcy to his deformed appearance. "This is not happening to me. How am I gonna explain this to Jeannie?" _

_The police directed a pair of searchlights by the pond and Jack, startled, picked his coat and retreated to the shadows. He did not want anybody to see him like this, Crazy Jack reduced to a caricature of a human being... _

_How could he make Jeannie understand he couldn't refuse this job for Doyle? No, he couldn't say no to the Boss after Doyle had threatened him with killing his family and sending him to prison. Jack was covered with so much dirt, that Doyle could send him to prison for life and Jeannie, who was expecting, will be left on her own with a baby to care for. One last job, Doyle had said, and then he will be free to go. _

_Everything would have been fine if the Human Bat would not have shown up tonight. Who was that lunatic in the bat suit and how did he find out about the gig? Could it have been one of Doyle's men? The boss had reasons to arrange this, after all, Jack had a lot of dirt on Doyle as well, and if Jack was gone, so was a potential witness of all of Doyle's illegal dealings. How clever, Doyle—thought Jack chuckling. It was funny how well the boss had played him, and how willingly Crazy Jack had walked into his trap. Jack clawed at the ground where he was kneeling while he let out a loud guffaw; it was all a big irony. Crazy Jack was now the biggest freak on Earth, and he had Doyle and the Bat-creep to thank for that…but he will have the last laugh…_

_Jack took his coat ripped the inner lining and with it improvised a scarf. He tried to arrange the made up scarf around his face to cover his ghastly features. There was no need to attract attention now. It was time to go home, and find a solution for his skin problem if there was one. God, what if this…this change was permanent? No, it can't be, this is just temporary, no one can live like this forever. He will find a way to revert the effects of the vat of chemicals. Then he will come back. First, he needed to quickly think of something to tell Jeannie when she sees him like this, but how could he explained her that now he looked like a clown from hell? He just prayed that she would be able to see beyond the monster, one more time._

* * *

OK, there you have it...this is just the beginning. More to come, I promise. The real meat is in the next installment. Please, let me know how you guys like where this is heading. I hope I'm keeping you all still interested. Just remember...this is a Joker story, about Joker...everything else is just fun...Thanks. (had to revise...found some spelling blunders...thanks) 


	24. Confession

AUTHOR'S NOTE: _Thanks to all of your following this story and leaving your encouraging feedback. Also thanks to David and Jess for including this story in their C2s...it's an honor. Well, this is the next installment of what I have already stated is the core of my story...sorry that this chapter is so long, but after multiple tries...I felt that everything I needed to say had to be self contained...and I had a lot to say...That's why it took so long to post. Hope you like it...after this, the trip gets better...I promise. Well, I would love to hear from you all in the community about the chapter so please submit your feedback even if its the only chapter you leave feedback; so please let me hear you... Enjoy!!!_

DISCLAIMER1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

DISCLAIMER2: Some scenes include MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Reader discretion is adviced.

**CHAPTER 24: CONFESSIONS**

Joker sat in the dark corner not moving and hardly breathing, when he realized where he was. This was not Monarch's Card Company, and the truth was that he has not set foot on that place in over fifteen years. What was all that about? Another repressed memory? That one could have stayed hidden in the recesses of his brain for all he cared. However, he knew that this was going to be one of more flashbacks to hit him, like the aftershocks of an earthquake. The earthquake had been his newfound sanity that had opened Pandora's Box to far away places in him memory, some dark and cold that he thought he would never visit again, like this one. It was only his fault, but no time for regrets now, he had to be strong.

This was just an image, like a movie, but why couldn't he let go of the pain? It wasn't as easy as closing your eyes at the scariest part of a horror movie. If it were that easy…he wouldn't be feeling this way. He rose cautiously and walked out to the shadows and into the dim-lighted hall. Everything was silent, and he had an unnatural feeling. It was as if he was still in a dream, a very familiar dream…

"Ladies and gentlemen," he started to say aloud to the empty hall bowing to the darkness. "I would like you to know that I envy you. While you rot, and dissolve in your little coffins or just lay comfortably inside your urns, I'm condemned to wander the world in a futile attempt to live, denied of everything I ever wanted and forced to make the living laugh until they die. All because…I am no longer me, but I'm a clown who has no control over what he does or feels." Joker giggled tapping his cane against the floor and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm so damn nuts." _BRAVO, MAESTRO…ENCORE! ENCORE!_

The Clown Prince twirled the cane playfully in his hand. "Among you, I feel at home, like family. It suits me well, (he, he) since I'm also dead, but even after death I am denied the peace and joys of the afterlife, as I have to feed this clown by doing things that would make you cringe in your own little tombs. I do it all for a short lived joy that leaves me fulfilled until it dissipates, and then it leaves me in this insane darkness…I'm talking to the dead…this is so crazy, like that Clown."

Joker started to laugh and noticed his eyes welling with tears. _WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, JACK? THERE IS NOT AFTERLIFE. THERE IS ONLY…ME. THERE IS ME BEFORE THE BAT AND ME AFTER THE BAT. I AM REALLY A CLOWN GOD! LET ALL THE GLORY BE MINE!!_ Joker cackled, and his body twitched under the uncontrollable laughter, because he knew he was not making any sense, and for some reason he found that to be hilarious. He let his body rest against one of the columns and slowly slid down until he sat on the floor with his knees up. The laughter subsided slowly. The tears were now sliding down his cheeks, in a catharsis of conflicting pain and joy, happiness and sorrow. He ran a weary hand over his face. He didn't want to feel this way, but he couldn't help it. His emotions were not his own lately, and that made him feel even less in control.

"Jeannie," he whispered. "Look what I've become. I'm the Joker and the Joker is me and together we make comedy until someone dies. That's me. That's us. All entangled in a world of insanity and nonsense, which we cannot escape. This insanity pulls us to commit the most heinous acts of violence for the love of the show. For a good laugh. Nothing brings a smile to my face like murder…but I felt different once. I remember I did...I remember when I didn't have to kill anybody to feel happy. I remember what it was to live beside you, how good it made me feel to see you smile, to hear your voice, but you're not here anymore…only your memory, and the memory of your loss."

Joker left out a deep sough. "Your memory has tamed the beast within me, for now…but how long can I stay sane when your absence is destroying what little sanity is left in me?" Joker focused his eyes on Jeanette's plaque on the wall and put a gloved hand over his mouth. He was now sobbing. "You said you loved me. And after all the promises we made to each other why did you want to forget me?"

_JUST A THOUGHT…COULD IT BE BECAUSE _YOU ARE A MURDEROUS LOOSER AND…_SHE HATED YOU?_ …Joker threw his cane violently against the floor and roared. He couldn't help to think that all this had happened because of him...and the Clown always reminded him. "Did you really hate me? You must have seen the future and you didn't want your memory to be lost in my darkness." The Clown Prince wiped his tears on his sleeve. "It's just that I had no way to turn; life without you was just like an empty theater on opening night. That night you died, I died with you." He held his head in his hands and rocked himself very gently. "What am I doing? I'm taking to a bunch of bones… a pile of ashes_…_as if they could hear me."_ YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND, JACK…JUST LIKE ME. TWO NUTS FROM THE SAME TREE…._" Joker giggled softly. …BUT I LIKE YOU THAT WAY…GO ON.

"Can I have two fucking seconds of privacy away from you whispering things on the back of my head, Clown? Just…shut up and leave me alone! This conversation doesn't concern you." Joker snapped furiously. Total silence. Joker giggled and leaned over the floor picking up his cane he held it firmly in front of him; making the jester's face in the handle looking at him directly into his green eyes. "….I don't want to be Jack anymore, nor Joker for that matter, Clown." Joker let out a disgusted snort.

"Jack…Who am I trying to fool? Jack, Joker …Mickey Mouse. The name doesn't matter, just the things I've done and the things I've done… are horrible." Joker said with a chill running down his spine. "I remember them all…and though you wanted me to change, Jeannie, to become a different man, I was too late for redemption. My soul was condemned from the moment I found this rage inside me that craved for the obliteration of anything living around me and my fate was sealed when I murdered for the first time." He spun the jester's head around and faced him again. Joker's eyes looked tired, like when someone had given up any hope and just let themselves be carried away by the circumstances. He did not want to fight anymore. "Look what you've made me, Clown…rejoice in your creation_… HA, HA, HAAA. YOU WERE ALREADY ROTTEN, JACK…I JUST MADE YOU FUNNIER… _Joker smiled.

"He's right, Jeannie, I just never told you how black, corrupt, and evil my soul was, and it was not fair to you, because you swore you could redeem my dark soul; but… would you still have loved me if I told the truth of my past? Would you have forgiven me if I had told you that I gutted a bully in the back of my house, and how I had rejoiced spilling his guts all over the ground and stomping on them in my rage...? I was only thirteen… and I remember it all like it was yesterday… the anger, the screaming, the blood…but I couldn't stop, and the blood just fueled my anger. I killed my father…" Joker's voice broke, "…burned him to a crisp. I've killed gangsters, I've killed women, children. Joker grunted. "I've done so many others, Jeannie…and I will do so many more. I've never been able to stop. I can't stop. _YOU DON'T WANNA STOP_… IT MAKES YOU HAPPY TO DO WHAT WE DO… I know it was wrong, but why does it have to be wrong when it makes me feel so good? I feel guilty, yes, but why should I feel guilty if it makes me happy? I don't understand...I couldn't do anything to stop and it felt so bad…but at the same time I enjoyed it. That is why I left, because I couldn't stand feeling anything anymore. It was all so confusing_. LET ME OUT AGAIN AND YOU WILL NOT FEEL A THING_…

"The last time I felt anything, it was with you and you made feel so different. The anger was fading away, light sparked in my abyss…and for a moment, I thought I could conquer my demon, taste what real happiness was; then my past caught up with me. I lived violently and I lost you violently at the hands of Doyle and his Bat." Joker gritted his teeth and tears were running down his thin white cheeks while he let a low growl and shook his head violently, the green curls dancing wildly over his head. "I was angry as I'm angry now…angry at the fact that I had allowed them to take you away from me. That fateful night I couldn't do anything for you and I couldn't take it any more, I couldn't live with the guilt, and less with the rage boiling inside me. I was left empty, because until then you had filled my entire soul with your love, your kindness, and with you gone nothing could fill the abysmal hole inside me anymore…nothing, nobody…but the Clown and his madness."

JACKY OL' BOY, YOUR'E SO PATHETIC THAT I COULD KILL YOU…Joker pulled out his gun, put it against his temple, and closed his eyes. He giggled gleefully and pulled the gun back arm's length still aiming at his head. "I can't live like this…" THEN DIE…The giggling had escalated in pitch and intensity, as if he was remembering a very funny joke. He pulled the trigger and a yellow banner with red letters popped from the barrel. BANG!! The clown Prince started to laugh hysterically. FOOL YA'! The guffaws slowly subsided. SMILE JACK, YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD! "Look at me. The man you tried to build crumbled, opted to commit suicide and die… in its place, a dark clown was born and the Clown took over his dead body." The Clown Prince sighed deeply. "He made me forget how to feel…he substituted my pain with his murderous joy, my tears with his deadly laughter. He made me who I am…the Joker…the Harlequin of Hate."

The Clown Prince placed the gun on the floor beside him and giggled; his voice softened. "But don't be fooled, Jeannie. This clown had always been inside me. It was a dark secret I never dare to tell you. I was able to just feed the monster occasionally up to that moment . Now, without me there, he needs to be fed all the time. In exchange of that, made me forget it all, because laughter was the cure of my pain. Nothing else could fill me. After all, life is like a bad comedy movie where death is the only good joke in the plot… so I made a deal with that demon within me." LIFE'S A BIG JOKE AND MURDER…IS THE GREATEST PUNCHLINE…

Joker rose from the floor, walked to the nearest column and slowly receded into its shadows. The cane's metallic jester was pressed firmly against his chest. His eyes were red and swollen, while tears continued flowing down his thin cheeks. For the first time he felt he was on the spotlight and he did not want to be there. The spotlight carried with it a sad and depressing feeling. He remembered feeling like this long time ago, and he didn't want to feel that way again. He didn't want to be there, he preferred the darkness where he's been hiding all this years. He wanted to die, right there…maybe then the pain will stop. Why wouldn't the Clown take over him now?

The clown had been with him so long…made him who he was…was that why couldn't he let go, ended all…? YOU DON'T LET GO BECAUSE YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO GO… YOU JUST WANT ME TO TAKE THE CENTER STAGE AND MAKE YOU FORGET WHO YOU ARE,ONCE MORE … I'M NOTHING BUT YOUR INSTINCTS, JACK…YOU ARE A MONSTER WHO DRESSES UP AS A MAN TO PREY ON THE PEOPLE WHO SURROUND YOU... AND YOU ENJOY IT. THAT'S YOU…THAT'S ME…THAT'S US…BECAUSE YOU AND ME ARE ONE AND THE SAME. AND TOGETHER WE MAKE QUITE A DEADLY PAIR…WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT…I WILL TAKE OVER AND TOGETHER WE WILL BRING THIS CITY TO ITS KNEES. Joker realized he needed the clown's laughter…he needed his joy at any cost. Living without it was intolerable; real life was a drama he did not want to be a part of at all. He was addicted to the murderous joy the clown made him feel with his deadly comedy. Because he couldn't feel anything else…he refused to feel anything else.

The feeling of joy that Jeannie's memory might have brought was also accompanied with the heavy load of pain, sorrow and loss. Pain…he had always felt the pain and he didn't want to feel it anymore. It was too depressing…why couldn't he feel happy again? The Clown had made it possible and the Clown had made him who he was… He was the Joker… The Clown prince embraced the smooth icy column; tears were running down uncontrollably but in this deep pain, he found humor, so he laughed softly..."Why is it so difficult to make this city understand that there can be no joy without pain and that the amount of joy is proportional to the amount of pain? Why revel in our miseries and our suffering when you could laugh at each one of them. Why can't they see that death can be so funny… and that there is humor even in murder… Am I the only one that sees these things? Is it madness to feel this way?"

The Clown sighed. "Coming back was a mistake. Look where it has brought me…back to your grave. Look what it has made me…a crazy mess. You think I can relive your loss after I've tried to forget the pain for so long? These memories and the feelings attached to them are driving me nuts all over again. I can't deal with them, I don't want to deal with them, I don't know how; it's been so long…I just wanna forget one more time.

"I'm so confused, Jennie, don't know who I am anymore…I hate this feeling, I hate everything, I hate everybody and murder is nothing but a big joke. _THAT'S THE TALK, JACK. LET ME OUT._ I was happier when I was dead…had no worries, no remorse, no memory, just this feeling of pure sadistic joy." Joker stopped and giggled. "…Sadistic joy…suffering is my only joy, and the history of my life…I'm really making absolutely no sense. When did this insanity started?" Joker pulled his scarf off, it was getting too hot in here. He chuckled softly and then left his face fall in his hands.

_The beginning. That's what was going to be the hardest part, start explaining all this mess from the beginning. Who was Jack kidding? Jeannie was going to be very upset when he tells her that he went back to work for Doyle one last time. He had promised her that his bloody past was behind him, it was no more, and that from the moment they started this new life together, Crazy Jack would have died… that is…until Boss Doyle found him again._

_He had been careless and he should have foreseen this. Doyle had tentacles extending everywhere in Gotham, and the fact that one of his best men decides to abandon the organization without his concern did not make him happy so Doyle didn't rest until he found his number two again._

_The truth was that the relationship between Boss Doyle and Jack had gone down the drain over the years. Jack for one part was getting tired of just being the trigger man for the gangster, he always wanted more, maybe a chance to lead the organization. Then Doyle found out about Jeannie and Jack's plans to marry her. Doyle was not happy because his strongman now had a soft spot… a woman that if the rumors where true had been able to tame the animal within Jack. and a woman with such power was now more of a liability than an asset, and his most powerful weapon had now a soft spot. Not only that, but the Boss had recently found out that Jack had been flirting with his girlfriend too. His manly pride was hurt, and Doyle wouldn't sit still. Jack on the other hand, wasn't afraid of showing his discontent behavior, and show off his prowess as leader. _

_One day Jack found out from one of his faithful associates that Doyle had it with him and was going to off him soon. Crazy Jack decided to teach Boss Doyle a lesson. He secretly invited Doyle's girlfriend out and after a night of dance and party, returned her to his apartment building, but she had mysteriously left her mink coat at the club. Jack, always the gentleman, offered her his trench coat and hat to protect her against the cold before leaving the car. Everybody knew that dark purple trench coat… it was Jack's trademark, and Jack knew they will be waiting for him that night. When she left the car to enter the building, Doyle and his men were waiting in the shadows and opened fire at the trench coat, killing the girl right there at the scene, while Jack left the scene of the crime with a smile on his face__After this show off of power, Jack knew nobody will dare do anything against him. _

_Doyle went to prison for his girlfriend's death and Jack was ready to leave to be with Jeannie when they made him an offer he couldn't resist: take over Doyle's organization. That would make him the most powerful man in Gotham, and the most feared. Jack, gave it great thought to the issue and even knowing that he might later regret this decision, opted to stay; postponing his plans to marry Jeannie for a while. He thought that it would be OK to stay for a few months within the organization, just to gather enough money to start his new life in luxury and comfort. _

_He explained to Jeannie that he wanted to wait until the moment was right for his exit from the organization, a tactical move that shouldn't take more than a few months. She listened carefully, and looked at him. She knew Jack very well, and If Jack was directing the shots, the right time might take months if not years, but she loved this man more than anything and he knew what was best. With some resentment, she accepted the new terms, she will wait for the opportunity he needed to leave safely. _

_Jack led the group of gangsters for almost a year before finally deciding to finally quit. His position of power had also made him and his loving family a target within the group. Jack couldn't stand putting Jeannette on the line of fire of those thirsty for power and recognition. He left and married Jeannie, who had patiently waited for Jack. Nobody would have waited that long, but she knew that Jack had to move very carefully within his circle of friends, for it could mean the difference between life and death. _

_They set to live in a nice apartment in a middle class section of Gotham City. Unfortunately, when trying to find a job, Jack lacked the experience to do anything else but be a mob hit man. He tried all possible venues without success and even his dreams of becoming an artist or a comedian never came to completion._

_With a wife but no job, Jack slowly ate away his money reserves and was forced to move to the Western Banks by the river, which was one of the poorest areas of the city. Jack found one day that Jeannie was expecting and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. If he didn't have enough to provide his wife, how could he provide for a child too? He needed to find a steady job soon and after some time landed a low paying job working at the Monarch Playing Card Company. Then Doyles's ghost appeared in his life._

_From prison, Doyle had ordered to find Jack to even scores, and the Boss' influences extended all over the city. Doyle's men found Jack and relayed the message of how disappointed the Boss was with him, and that his family would pay the price. Jack pleaded and Boss Doyle knew he had Jack in his hand, for his family was really his soft spot. He told Jack that he was willing to overlook past animosities because of all the years of good service he had given him, but that to prove his worthiness, Jack had to do one more job for Doyle: steal the Monarch Card Company payroll…Jack didn't trust Doyle, but what else could he do? His family safety was at stake, so he accepted the job._

_That was then, but now, how could Jack explain to Jeannie that he had no other choice but to accept Doyle's offer to protect her and the baby? She will not be convinced; instead, she was going to be very disappointed on him. God knew that he couldn't live with the thought of this woman hating him, with the guilt of destroying the only thing in his life that had any value, because of his greed and his love to show off his power.. What if he went to the police and just spilled the beans on Doyle...? _

_No, that was out of the question. The moment he had to reveal what type of jobs he did for Doyle and his gang, he will earn a free ticket to the hot chair. Nothing would excuse what he had done for Doyle in the past, especially when everybody knew, how much he had enjoyed doing it. Doyle knew and took advantage of the fact. Jack might be crazy, but was not stupid and right now; he was against the wall._

_Now reality hit him hard on the face. Because of Doyle and his Bat he was now a freak, maybe even marked for life and the hardest thing would be looking at Jeannie's disapproving eyes as he tried to justify his actions. Could this angel forgive this monster one more time?_

_Jack parked the car he had stolen a few blocks away, no need to bring the problems home. His original ride had already been killed at Monarch and he had to improvise a ride by rewiring a car found in the facility's large parking lot to serve him as his ticket back home. He then heard sirens, and there were patrol cars parked a few blocks ahead, very close to his building with a large number of people spilled into the streets. Could they have known he was involved with the Red Hood robberies or the incident at the playing card factory and were here to arrest him? Maybe the Bat was still lurking in the shadows just waiting to pounce on him at first sight. Maybe Doyle had set everything already and the police was just waiting for him. It was time to approach home through the alternate route. He needed to reach Jeannie, warn her somehow…take her away from the mess he had brought forward. He sneaked through alleys and roofs, trying to reach his apartment when he saw the smoke coming for the top floor of the apartment building. . God! That's my building---thought Jack using a fire escape ladder to slide down to the ground. He hid within the darkness of one of the alleys but enough for a closer look._

"_That is one hell of a blaze," he heard say a black woman carrying a baby in her hands and dragging a toddler behind her. "It's gonna destroy the whole building."_

"_Anybody knows what happened?" Asked a short stout man._

"_The people say that there was an explosion in one of the apartments in the fifth floor, and then the fire spread like lighting through the entire building." Jack's eyes opened wide with terror. His apartment was on the fifth floor. _

"_Any survivors, Delia?"_

"_Don't know, happened so fast. There's a lot of people missing."_

_Missing? How many people? Jack asked to himself. Will Jeannie be among the missing? No, it can't be. The people kept talking, and he kept listening from the darkness, confirming his worst nightmare. The explosion happened in his side of the building and there were no survivors expected because the only thing left on that side where a few bricks from the foundation walls. Everything else was gone, an exploding boiler they said, but he didn't believe it. Doyle's dirty hands (and probably the Bat's dirty paws) had to be in this mess. He left the premises silently, there was nothing for him there any more and he hurried through the dark alleys, trying to get away from it all._

"_Jeannie, I'm…so…sorry. This is all my fault. I wish…I wish I were dead. I deserved to die…not you…"Jack felt empty, as if someone had ripped his heart out of his chest and thrown it away. He wasn't sad, he wasn't angry; he just couldn't feel any emotion at all, only the emptiness, the deep abysmal hole in his soul, because living without Jeannie was nothing but a living death, an empty existence in which his life was absolutely pointless. He hated this feeling of despair…of a vacuum deep in his soul sucking any remnant of happiness into nothingness, and the guilt of knowing that he was somehow responsible of this situation; he couldn't live with that. He hated his life._

_He was tired of feeling like this. Whenever he started to feel something, like love, or joy something will happen that will turn those feelings into pain and sorrow. It had always been that way, as if someone had decided that happiness was a feeling banned for him, and he was condemned to have it within his grasp only to loose it violently. Every time he let himself feel anything he would be left hurting. He did not know what to do, didn't know how to feel. It was all so confusing, love, hate, sorrow. It was all the same hollow feeling. The feeling was not new, but today the emptiness was overwhelming, sucking anything that had any meaning in his life. It was too much to bear. This hollow feeling was slowly turning into rage and Jack knew where that feeling was heading… He just wanted to die, but before dying, he needed to release this fire within him, he had to destroy that which surrounded him no matter what or who it was…he wanted to kill something. _

_Without Jeannie there to calm the beast, the sorrow was slowly transforming into pure deep hatred of anything and everything. At the same time something strange was happening, deep inside something within this terrible sorrow seemed pretty funny. This pain for some reason, felt like the most hilarious thing in the whole world. Was it just him or did anyone else find this funny? LAUGH IT UP, BOY…LAUGH IT UP. It was a weird humor, but it felt much better than sitting in a corner to cry for losses. His mom used to say 'if you have lemons, then make lemonade' and why not? After all, there was nothing else he could do but laugh. No family, no home, no friends…and looking like a clown from hell. SHARE THE JOY! Laugh and the world will laugh with you, YES!! THAT'S THE SPIRIT, BOY…and he will make the world laugh, after all, he had a gift for comedy, and when he makes the world laugh, they will know a new meaning of pain, just like his. Because people didn't know, but he had discovered that pain and joy are intimately related, and all this pain had made him the happiest man on earth and when he shares this happiness with the world…the world will never forget. Then he remembered a joke…_

_"How many bats do you need to change a light bulb…none because bats are blind… but this one might… just depends how much Doyle is paying…" and he started laughing, slowly escalating from a few chortles to a hysterical laughter, with a shrill that could make the souls in hell freeze. The statement was not as funny as the thoughts that it produced. In his mind's eye he saw a large man-bat huffing and puffing over a light bulb. blood dripping from his fangs. Blood...MURDER... He thought of dead children, like his unborn child, and he thought that was a scream. YES, IT'S A RIOT, DON'T YOU THINK? Yes, it is…and what about dead people..? Larger size means…greater joy, no? He then busted in laughter again. YOU'RE GRASPING THE CONCEPT,…Why didn't anybody else think of this before? He was starting to feel a release, his endorphins working overtime to provide that bubbly feeling that in the past had allowed him to deal with his circumstances. DO YOU FEEL ANY PAIN NOW? No, no pain, just this feeling of pure…pure…JOY? Yes, joy. This is all so funny. _

_That he was now looking like a clown.. HAHAHAHAAAA!!. So who cared, looking like a clown could be a plus when you are into comedy, even if it is deadly comedy DEADLY, JACK, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW DEADLY…Jack was starting to enjoy this. His wife was dead…BUAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Good, she will not have to put with this looser husband that could not even protect his family against Doyle and his Bat. She didn't deserve him in the first place and if she lived she'll probably not want to do anything with him…no…wait…his life without Jeannie…this is not funny…OH YES IT IS….LET ME BE YOUR GUIDE IN THIS NEW COMEDY ROUTINE, JACK…SHE WOULD WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, SO BE HAPPY, LAUGH IT UP. Yes, for her…my laughter will be my memorial. NO. NO MEMORIAL. JUST LAUGH, REMEMBERING WILL ONLY SPOIL THIS FUN. FORGET WHO YOU WERE. YOU'RE A NEW MAN NOW… Yes…curtains drawn…and it is a whole new act…HA, HA. NEW ACT…NEW CAST. THE GREATEST… "…show on earth." The Clown was now laughing hysterically… And the bat? Well, he will just have to get some sense of humor on the beast, maybe a joke or two will soften 'im up, and crazy Jack knew how to soften people up, doing the Bat will be a piece of cake. Nothing will soften up someone like some deaths in the family… __HA, HA, HAAAA, HE, HE… ha, ha, hee, hee, hee, haaa, ha, ha…_

"Sir," a voice spoke to him through the darkness when he saw the cemetery security guard walking towards him. "Are you alright?"

The voice had startled him, distracting him for a moment from his thoughts and his laughter. Damn people. Always interrupting when he was having fun. The security guard. He was a simple man entering into the incoherent rants of a man barely touching the edges of sanity. MEAT… a joke of a man… a little puppet in a play. INSIGNIFICANT…uninteresting…unless he was part of the greater act…unless he was part of the main joke. One. DEADLY. Joke. Joker set the cane down and rested on its handle. Within the darkness of the hall, his grin widened maliciously.

"Peachy, I was just sharing a joke with my dead friends here but they are not much of an audience as you can see. They're all a bunch of stiffs." Joker answered giggling and slowly moving amongst the shadows to greet the guard; his face still concealed by the darkness in the hall. "Isn't life just peachy, my friend?" DON'T' FUCK WITH THE IDEA, BUD; LIFE IS PEACHY ONLY WHEN SOMEONE DIES. "But I've been told that death is even peachier."

"Please sir, step forward into the light where I can see you." said the officer putting a hand over his revolver and slowly walking towards the Clown Prince.

"I… can't. "Joker said in a very sad voice. "It's not funny if you see me… cry." _WHEN HAVE YOU SEEN A CLOWN CRY, DUMBASS? IT'S NOT FUNNY… PEOPLE DON'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE US CRY…NOW THAT'S REAL FUNNY…_

"It's OK, sir, I understand. It's hard when you loose a loved one, but still I need to see you. Please, step into the light. Maybe we can talk…you'll feel better if you talk about it." He was just steps from the man in darkness, his hand firmly placed over the gun in his waist holster. The man with the strange sense of humor didn't move, he just seemed to be looking at something on the floor.

"No, you have no clue, and I don't talk, I giggle. First step forward then step back, don't force the issue unless you want a good whack." Joker giggled again. "Not much of a poet…am I? I'm more of a comedian." _LET ME AT HIM, LET ME AT HIM, PLEASE!…I KNOW A JOKE, REALLY, I KNOW A VERY FUNNY JOKE…LET ME SHARE IT WITH HIM._

"Sir, are you intoxicated? I'll have to ask you to accompany me outside." The security guard kept walking slowly just a few feet from the darkened figure. The guard extended a hand in what looked like a handshake, or maybe an invitation to share the pain of the loss. But this man didn't knew anything about his pain...THEN SHOW 'IM YOUR PAIN...SHOW 'IM WHAT IT FEELS TO HURT THIS BAD...

"No, I'm not intoxicated, (he, he, he) just completely out of my mind." Joker flung his scarf at the officer and with a swift movement, he wrapped it around the man's arm and neck and pulled the guard forcefully towards him. The Clown Prince quickly disarmed the officer tossing the gun out of the building through the colonnade and spun him several times twisting tightly the scarf around the man's arm and neck until he had the officer's back against his chest. He put his cane against the security officer's neck and pulled forcefully. The man in front of him, started to gasp and fight the grip with his loose hand. "Yes, my blue friend. I'm crazy, demented, and psychotic, make your pick; (HA, HA, HA) a total lunatic who hear voices in his head that make him laugh and who thinks somebody else's death's a riot…."

Joker pulled the cane with all his might. There was a loud cracking noise, and the man went limp. Joker kept the pressure on the cane and giggled. "So fucking insane that I'm laughing as you die…I think it's the most hilarious thing in the whole world…and you don't disappoint me…actually, it cracks me up when I crack your neck…" The Joker laughed loudly while he slowly let go of the officer, whose body hit the floor heavily. He looked around nervously, then to the body on the floor. He smiled softly, but the smile vanished as fast as it had appeared and he let out a deep guttural growl, like an injured lion, and fell on his knees holding his face in his hands.

"God… I've killed again…this time in front of you, (oh God, oh God) I'm so sorry…but it felt so good!" Joker fell to his knees. "I'm a monster…I never deserved you, Jeannie, but I became so dependent on you... THAT'S 'CAUSE _YOU'RE SUCH A WUZZ. _You were the only one who could calm the beast. You did it once, with your smile, your touch, and your angel blue eyes. You set me free. Then the miserable flying rat swept away any dream of us being together, and Doyle finished the job the Bat started. You can't come back to me now… and I can't stop being who I am…

"I took care of Doyle…that was the easy part; they eventually gave him the chair…and his whore had finally stopped chasing me around like the queen in heat she was." YOU FUCKED HER GOOD, THOUGH… Joker slammed a hand against the hard column beside him and let out a grunt. Why wouldn't that Clown shut up...? He felt helpless as he continued to weep. "Jeannie, no matter what the Clown says, I never betrayed your love. Some things I had to do to play my game safely, but you were never part of my game…you were part of my life. You changed my world and that whore could not understand the difference between lust and real love.

"The Bat…he has escaped my vengeance for the last time. I will break the Bat, destroy his soul, just like he broke mine. I will destroy what he cares most, what has any meaning for him, just like he destroyed what had given my life meaning. The Bat will beg for me to kill him swiftly, to end his pain…but there will be no end to his pain, to his suffering. The Joker couldn't take care of him…it's my turn to set the score straight, and then I can die again… in peace… and loose myself in the Joker's insanity where I belong..."

Joker rose from the floor and stood motionless, setting the cane down on the floor and resting his body over the jester's head. His eyes closed, as in deep meditation. Then he smile widened. "My very own madness…_YOUR VERY OWN JOY JACK, YOU KNOW THAT IS WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED. YOU FEEL JOY IN WHAT WE DO…YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO FEEL ANYTHING ELSE, BECAUSE MY JOY WILL FILL YOUR WHOLE BODY_…Joy?? _YES, THE JOY I BRING WHEN WE KILL, MAIM, DESTROY…YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED, KID? SOME RELAXATION. WHAT ABOUT A LITTLE PUT-PUT?"_ Joker put a hand on his face and started to giggle. "In the cemetery…?" _YES, RIGHT HERE_…YOU AND ME. "You're crazy…" N_O, YOU ARE. TRYING TO FIGHT YOUR NATURE…IS INSANE, BUT FOR ONCE, LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD, THINK WILD…LIKE ME!_

Joker smiled timidly to the darkness. "What you want me to do? _GRAB YOUR CANE, SWING, HIT THE BALL AND...FORE!"_ Joker did what he was told. He swung his cane and with all his might hit the dead officer's head that made a wet cracking noise. The dead man rolled on the floor stopping a few feet ahead of him leaving a trace of blood on the floor. The Clown Prince giggled louder and then started cackling while he looked at the corpse. This game of put-put was quite funny, but the head will make better ball if it was detached from the body. He will have to try harder. Joker stared at wall, fixing his eyes on the plaque on the wall…" What you think Ms Jeannie..?" He started to laugh loudly, "Disappointed? That was a bogie…but still under par. This one will impress you…" Joker got ready to swing his cane again for another hit when he heard his cell phone ring. Why did people always interrupt him when he was having fun?

"This better be important, I'm kind of busy here." Joker answered angrily over the phone, swinging the cane over his shoulder. "Oh, it's you Charley."

"We have a problem, Mister J."

"Yes, we do. I called you like a hundred times and you never picked up. Where the fuck have you been?"

"I don't need to tell you where I go. You're neither my father nor my boyfriend."

Joker felt like someone had slapped him on the face and he had killed for much less in the past. "No, I'm your boss, and you left me, without a word… I would even start suspecting you are planning something on your own and I don't appreciate entrepreneurs."

"Now wait a minute, this is no time for one of your paranoid crises. I just went for a few drinks with the boys, OK? Then the police stormed the place and arrested the gang. I escaped by providence, because I left a little early, but they have Jake and the boys. And from what I've heard, the Bat was the first to raid the building asking about you."

"What?" Joker asked with obvious concern.

"You heard me. They busted the Leopards in our little hangout place and if I didn't know better, I'd say someone spilled information about our little enterprise together. Not good."

"And you think it was me?" Retorted Joker, as he paced the hall.

"Not really, but now that you ask, did you?"

"Of course not, we have a deal, a mutual understanding."

"Then it must've been one of the four arrested Leopards a few weeks ago. They were supposed to have been released soon after their arrest, that's the deal we had, Clown. You were supposed to keep an eye for my people, Joker. Isn't this your town?"

"Arrested Leopards? Hold on… I can't be everywhere, especially if your boys start little incursions on their own without my consent... How would I know? I'm not a bat."

"No, you're not a Bat, you're the Joker and last time you told me you owned this city. Guess that was not true…because thanks to your ineptitude, I've lost all my people and you lost half your workforce. You better do something, Joker. I don't want to be publicly linked with you or your dealings, it's best for me as it is for you."

"Damn, this is getting too complicated." Joker started to laugh again. "Bat's actually gaining on me."

"It's not funny, Joker, I need my men free and if you know what's good for you, you'll do something very fast, before the Batman or the pigs start interrogating them."

"Let me think, let me think…" _I'M GONNA KILL THAT BITCH….NOBODY TALKS TO ME LIKE THAT _"…we got to regain control." NO, NO WE WERE DOING SO MUCH PROGRESS…NOT BACK TO THE SHADOWS. JACK DON'T DO THIS TO ME…Joker pressed the bridge of his nose. "I need to make some calls. If the Bat wants a war he's gonna get a war. In how long could you make it to my place?"

"I'm not moving from where I am. I'm keeping very low profile for now."

"My hideout it the only safe place in town for you or any Leopard left... hold on, hold on, you're right, if the bat got your friends, he might be after you too. Stay still and we'll keep in touch."

This whole thing was starting to spiral out of control. He had been careless…again, and the world was starting to crumble all around him like it always did somehow. Right now, the priority will be getting those kittens back from the pig clutches, before they could tell them what he's been brewing for this city…he couldn't let that happen. He's been working too hard to keep everything so quiet, that nobody would suspect what was coming, and the Batman was getting too damn close…not if he could help it. Joker grabbed his cane firmly in his hand when it felt sticky in his hand…he looked at the palm of his hand and noticed semi-dried blood on it…his blood?

Joker put his cell phone away, looked around him and then at the dead security guard on the floor. He remembered what he had done, and this was not what he had wanted to do. It definitely was not the way he wanted for things to end … Murder was always in his mind, and it will always be there. The clown must be rejoicing now… Joker arched his eyebrows; he was definitely loosing his sanity again. He put a hand over his mouth and looked over to the wall were the plaque with Jeannie's name watched him with blood in his hands, innocent blood. No wonder she didn't want to remember him at all, who would like to remember someone like him… I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T…Joker walked over to the plaque on the wall and reclined his head against the cold marble wall. He tried to hold back the tears but it was useless; he started to weep again.

"I'm sorry, Jeannie. I don't know how long its going to take me to completely loose my mind again, so I'll be brief… I'm sorry I'm not the man you wanted me to be. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, or our son… I'm sorry I killed again, and that you had to see it… I'm sorry you lie on a crypt when it was me who should have died that night…if I had, this city would have never known the nightmare I have become." Joker sobbed and sniffled, removed the dark Barcelona rose bud in his lapel and set it carefully on the small container by the plaque. He grabbed the bag of gems and poured the stones in his hand. Among the stones, he picked the large glowing blue diamond…the one that triggered this memory. It was time to finish this chapter. "This one belongs to you…my farewell gift…the rest of them can…"

Joker started to play with the stones still in his hand. He had thought of getting rid of them all, but there was something in those gems that still brought that happy feeling again, buy now…that Jeannie was dead so who was capable of making him feel that way? He thought on why would they still hold such a large influence in him…they were just crystals… but these crystals reminded him of someone else now. The red rubies were as bright as her costume, blue sapphires gleamed at him like her blue eyes looking at him tenderly, after a good joke. Purple amethysts…mischievous, like him…he always liked purple…and diamonds were a symbol of eternal love.

He smiled. He remembered her smile. The sweet clown that had shared his comedic interests. How could he forget? When Jeannie died he thought he will never be able to find love like that again…maybe he did… The clown in red and black smiled at him and made him feel special, why would he had wanted to be with her in the first place? Even in an insane world like the one he lived on, she would understand the joke.

SHE'S KIND OF FUNNY I HAVE TO ADMIT….DEADLY FUNNY…Joker couldn't help to giggle softly, for even the lunatic clown agreed that the Harlequin was a special clown. Jeannie belonged to Jack, but Jack was dead…The Joker was back now but he will not be alone anymore. Joker stopped smiling…that lovely clown had also betrayed him…like everyone else had…. UH-OH JACK, ARE YOU THINKING WHAT I'M THINKING? Joker pushed himself off the wall. "I must leave now, Jeannie; have work to do. I promise you I will not disturb your slumber any more. You deserve the peace and quiet of the afterlife, so please forget I was here, forget I was part of your life…and your death. I will finish what I started…I will kill the Bat and when I do, then I'll be able to die in peace; never to remember any of this pain again, ever. Bye, love."

* * *

Where there you have it. Hope you all liked it...please leave me your input on the subject...all comments are appreciated. I will try to update soon, but some changes have occured in my life and the story has changed so revising takes time. Thanks you all. Isabel 


	25. Close Encounters and Revelations

_Author's note: Thank you all again for the positive feedback, its what keeps me intersted posting more chapters of this story. Hope the developements are what you all expected. Pay attention for future developments...Ive tried to make this as much entertaining as possible. It's a lot of fun..._

Disclaimer1: Batman and related characters are property of Webster

Disclaimer2: Some chatpters contain MATURE LANGUAGE and MATURE SITUATIONS. Reader discretion is advised.

CHAPTER 25: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS & REVELATIONS

Charley closed her cell phone. Dealing with the Clown had become more of a hassle more than a good investment. The Joker had been careless, driven by his obsession with the Batman, and the end result had been the arrest of almost the entire Leopard gang in Gotham. She needed to do something free those Leopards under custody, but this was not her town and no matter what Joker had promised her over the phone, she did not believe him. She could not believe him. She had trusted him and now she was reduced to hide in the darkness of this city, like the rats in the sewers, praying that the flying beast will not be after her as well.

She drew her gun and checked the clip. Full…and she had two more clips on her. Those pigs will not get to her without a fight, and the Bat will taste a little bit of his own blood if he even tried to get close to her. This was the Joker's fault. Why did she kept working for him after the murderous reputation the Clown had that she had personally confirmed first hand? Murder for him was like her coffee in the morning, couldn't live without it. How could she have been so blind? The man was insane, that should have been a giveaway from the beginning, after so many odd things she had witnessed Joker do and say. She should have listened to her instincts, but everybody had said that you could get rich working for the Clown Prince of Gotham and that was too big an opportunity to just pass by. It was a dream come true; but at what cost? The dream had now turned into her worst nightmare.

Charley held her head between her hands as she felt a dizzy spell sneak up on her. She had too much to drink that night, and she could only imagine the headache waiting for her in the morning. That was going to be the mother of all hangovers. She heard the entrance door creak behind her, and she looked back, tensing every muscle, the automatic in her hand pointing at the door. Derek entered securing the door locks on the door behind him. He looked nervous, and she could notice his skin shinning from the sweat under the dim lights of the apartment. He was startled to see her aiming her gun at him and froze in place.

"Charley….what in heavens…?"

"Sorry, Derek. You surprised me." She put the gun away. "Have you heard anything?"

The man relaxed and walked over to her. "They arrested twenty-three Leopards including Jake and drove them to the station extremely quickly. The police seemed to have especial interest on Mountain Man…I think they know something."

"Of course they know something, Derek. Why do you think they knew where able to find us? Damn it, Joker, this is your fault!" Charley said under her breath slamming her hand against the wall. "We need to stay down for a while. They will be searching for us in no time."

"Maybe we can leave town, before they find out about us…leave the Clown to his own luck."

"I'm not leaving the Leopards behind. They are counting on us."

"There's nothing we can do, Charley…" Derek came closer to her. "We don't know anybody in this town and we don't have the contacts we have in Brenton. This town is a whole new game."

"I'm still not leaving. I'll see Joker dead first, before leaving Jake and the gang behind. This is his entire fault. The crew is very important, knows too much, and in this town, we need to stick together."

"Is the Joker going to do something about it?"

"He said he was…but I don't believe him. He is out of his mind; can't take the Batman out of his fucking head."

"He's the only one with the contacts in this city…didn't he said he owned it?"

Charley sighed and shook her head. "You need to learn something about Joker, Derek. Not everything he says is true. His perception of reality is...what is one way of putting it…warped? What is real for you or I, might not and probably will not be for him…he thinks that he owns his city…but it really belongs to the Bat."

"What are we going to do now?"

"I…don't know yet. But we are going to …" A sound outside the window, like the rustle of leaves, surprised her. She drew her gun again and Derek followed. "What's that noise?"

Derek walked tentatively to door that separated the living room from the small balcony. He looked though the glass all around the premises, then turned to Charley and nodded. She motioned him to open the door and check outside, she would cover him with her gun. Derek opened the door slowly and peeked outside. Pushing the door open, he stepped out in very small steps. Behind him Charley held her gun firmly on her hands, while she advanced to the balcony door gradually, not loosing sight of Derek. It was very dark outside. Half of the street lights had burned down and the ones still on hardly flickered with enough intensity to do any good. She saw Derek still advancing on the balcony to the right, his figure shadowed except for the glittering of the chain that he used as a belt around his waist.

There was a loud thud and Derek's figure disappeared. Charley's grip on her automatic tightened and two small black capsules entered the living room through the balcony door. The capsules popped open as they hit the floor and the room filled with a thick gray mist. Charley fired and something hard hit her on her hand forcing her to painfully let go of the gun. She started to back off from the enveloping mist trying to see what was lurking within the fog when she got hit on the stomach and on her jaw. A third blow to her head, this one with great force, made her spin and fall heavily on the floor where she didn't move any more.

From the dissipating mist, a long, slender hooded figure started to appear, two pointy ears high on top of a black masked hood with a long black cape that wrapped around it. The image resembled the form a large bat. The figure moved closely to Charley's inert body and knelt by her side. A dark gloved hand extended from under the sleek cape and started searching into the Leopard's leader black jacket. The bat grabbed Charley by the shoulder and turned her around, very slowly. In the midst of the turn, Charley thrust her closed fist into the Bat's face, where a nose should be, forcing the figure backwards. The Leopard leader flipped forwards and charged the enemy Bat, with all her might, inflicting blow after blow. The Bat was taken by surprise with the violent attack and was doing the best to block the blows that were coming at the speed of sound. Charley jumped into mid are and spun a kick that connected solidly on the Bat's cowl. The figure wobbled while Charley landed on the floor and with another swift spin under the dark figure, she made it stumble to the floor.

Charley continued the attack on the floor, kicking the black figure on the abdomen, the face, the groin; wherever her feet landed. There had to be a weak spot in the armor of this monster, she thought as she produced two butterfly knives from her boots. The Bat grabbed Charley's foot and pushed her away with such force that she made the Leopard fall solidly on her back. The bat figure, a female bat now that Charley could have a much better look since the mist had almost completely cleared up, rose and charged her. Charley stopped her advance with her legs and pushed the figure back, and taking an opportunity, slid between the dark figure's legs stopping quickly behind her. With a swift movement, Charley inserted one of her knives into the back of the Batgirl's right knee joint and heard the large figure scream. It was the first time that she had heard any noise from the creature. She kicked the Bat on her other knee forcing her to the floor again.

Charley was ready to finish this fight. With only one knife, held firmly in one hand, he was going to kill this beast. Cut her throat and spill her blood. She approached the fallen figure who was moaning over her injured leg. The bat noticed her and tried to rise from the floor without success. She was crippled, and that made Charley very happy. The Leopard leader smiled. "I'm gonna hang your head on the wall, freak!" This creature was all hers…then her eyes started to sting, as if acid had being poured over her eyes. Charley screamed, and fell on the floor rubbing her eyes forcefully. The Batgirl had managed to sneak up on her and spray her with something… her eyes were on fire. Pepper spray…the Bat-bitch had sprayed her with pepper spray. How? She didn't see that coming... Charley rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on the Batgirl in front of her but her eyes hurt and were all filled with tears. She wiped her eyes with her shirt and, being able to see for just a moment, she realized that the Bat was gone Where did it go? She couldn't fight with a knee like that… Damn. No good. Probably calling for reinforcements.

"Bitch!" Charley said rising to her feet and spitting on the floor. She ran a hand down her face and noted a small amount of blood coming from her nose. "That will teach you to fuck with a Leopard Queen."

The Leopard leader walked gingerly over to the balcony and looked around finding Derek lying on the floor against the veranda. She approached him and felt for a pulse. She sighed in relief at finding out he was still alive, though he would probably not wake up in a good while. Charley patted Derek softly on the shoulder and looked around the balcony once more. She saw something on the floor. It was dark, and wet. She touched it with her hand. It was blood. The bat was bleeding. She follow the small droplets of blood until they stopped at the other end of the veranda; she looked at the rail and noticed more blood. Just a drop, but enough to confirm that the Bat had jumped over. No Bat-girl. She went back and searched the apartment meticulously, and there were no signs of the creature. The Bat was gone for good…at least for now. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed a number. It was time to set the record straight…

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a rumble in the dining room and when she opened her eyes she realized she had fallen asleep on the chair and dropped to the ground. She giggled innocently, that was funny. Wait until she told him…he will be… She stopped giggling and let out a deep sigh. She couldn't help but to think about him. Something deep inside told her that there was something really wrong with her lover, and what bothered her the most was the fact that all the attempts she had made to find him have not yield any results. At the beginning, she had blamed the Batman for not obtaining a location on the Joker, arguing that the rat was not doing his best job. Now she had to admit that this was a daunting task. It had never been so difficult for her to find Joker; he had never being able to keep a low profile for too long, but why had he disappeared now? Her heart ached of just imagining what kind of dangers threatened her loving Clown.

Harley rose from the floor and sat on the chair again, this time laying on her arms over the table and looking at a large Gotham City travel map. In it, she had marked the hideouts she had already visited on red, while the ones left for her to go were marked on green crayon. There were not many green marks left on that map. She had gone all over the city and not as much as a green hair from Joker. That was highly unusual, like the earth had swallowed the Joker whole, without leaving any trace… and her brief contact with Michael had not yielded any new information, instead it left her with far more questions…

She couldn't shake Michael's attitude of holding information on the Joker. He had never done that to her, but what if that was not his idea, but Joker's. Why would he want to stay away from her. 'Take some time off…'Blip had said as if this was a job or an assignment…what did Blip want to tell her? Why would the Clown Prince of Crime want her beloved sidekick away from him….then a chill ran down her spine… Could it be that the Joker was no longer interested in her? Had somebody usurped her place in his heart. Harley let out an angry sigh. She would fight for the Clown's love. Anybody in the middle between her and his love, better watch out…and she would not tolerate the betrayal. "Pumpkin, if you've been cheating on me…." Harley said with a soft angry growl.

Maybe Blip was holding off to prevent her from being hurt. The hacker had always felt close to her, as someone he could talk to…very considerate, but holding info was just causing her to panic. Her imagination was running wild with all the possible scenarios, and that made her more resolute in her decision of finding her loved Clown as soon as possible even if it meant doing the inconceivable, the impossible.

"Where are you hiding, puddin'?" Harley said softly to herself, running a quick hand over the map. "I need to find you…and soon. I need you to answer some questions for me, pumpkin." She lifted the map ever so slightly and underneath she found the Joker card she always had kept with her since she met the Clown Prince of Crime. His face, white as a ghost was smiling back at her and she felt her eyes well with tears. "I really need you…but I think you might need me even more. Where are you? Why are you running away from me?"

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker walked back to the Buick that was still parked where he left it. He could see the Leopard boy snoozing at the wheel and not too far away Elliott taking a piss by a tree.

"Hurry home, boys. We've got problems."

"What happened, boss?" asked Elliot getting back into the car. Joker boarded the back seat.

"Got a Bat in my soup. Just drive." The boss dialed a number his cell phone. "Hellooo, Sergio old pal…. What? No, wait, don't hang up. _Te tengo una propuesta de negocios que no vas a poder rehusar, amigo mio_… I'm not kidding…" Joker snorted. "All right, sorry for the gas bomb, happy? …I know it's not sincere but that's all you're getting… Well, I need you to do me a little favor… of course you're going to get paid. I'll make the transfer myself. What…? Fifty grand…?" Joker made a short pause and grumbled something unintelligible while he pressed on the bridge of his nose. "OK, OK. Just for this once, as long as you deliver the goods. Great, now listen carefully and do exactly as I say…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nightwing arrived at the police station one hour earlier than Batman had agreed on, but the Caped detective was already there working in his PDA. The police had been able to gather a lot of information on the gang and the Detective was probably working the details on his portable computer.

"Hey, old man" Dick said approaching the dark figure. "Guess who did I ran into… Garibaldi."

Batman's eyes could not hold his surprise as he lifted them to meet Nightwing. "Garibaldi…arrested? That's a breakthrough."

"Well, it's not that much of a breakthrough when the fat bastard manages to escape." Batman's eyes did not left the young hero. "I still don't know how he did it…it's as if he had vanished in thin air. I was right behind him, he turned a corner and just disappeared, and a guy that fat shouldn't run that fast…"

"Were you able to gather any information while you had him?"The Knight said in a grave voice. He was obviously disappointed on having lost the Joker's hacker, and Nightwing could tell from his voice... That made him feel even worse.

"He had met with another hacker in a coffee shop in downtown when I saw him. I think he bought something from the hacker, because they exchange data disks or something. I followed Blip and I was able to recover his backpack. He had some interesting things in it…at least I'm now sure that the chip stolen from Wayne Tech might have been for him."

"Blip had the chip?"

"No, but he had some AI program designs using the chip, everything looked sketchy on paper and I don't know to what extent they are functional…but Garibaldi was trying to create some applications for the chip, that's for sure. He also had a few disks with AI emulators in them…nice pieces of programming, if you ask me."

"So maybe Blip wanted to sell the chip after all…only needed to make it functional."

"That's what I think…and it seems he was doing real progress. I'm hoping that by snatching the data disks and the papers we slowed down that son of a bitch of doing anything with that chip"

"Did he say anything about Joker's whereabouts?

"He was about to when he escaped but I think he was just bluffing, buying some time to trick me…He even had me believing me that the Joker had threatened him and that he was afraid of leaving the clown…I offered him protection and everything…I can't believe I fell for that."

"Garibaldi has the master of deception for a boss and he seemed to have leaned how to become an efficient liar. Remember he fooled me once too. Unfortunately, his escape means he's going to tell Joker that we are getting closer to his trail."

"Don't remind me…I feel bad as it is by having let the bastard escape. I'm sure that the son of a bitch could convince the Pope he was Jesus." Nightwing growled angrily. "But wait until I see that fat bastard again…"

Batman looked back to his PDA. "No time for regrets. We need to focus and move forward in the investigation if we are to close in the Clown quickly. We'll take a closer look at Garibaldi's evidence when we are done with the interrogation."

"Do we have our test subjects? Nightwing said with a smile crossing his face.

"Think so…these guys are a very elite club. Once a member is accepted, they go though a series of oaths to guarantee their secrecy and anonymity. It's almost a hybrid between a gang and a secret society. Their base of operations is in Brenton about four hours north of Gotham.

"Joker went far away to hire his muscle this time."

"Yes, probably nobody wanted to work for him here, so he had to move his job search farther from the city. Their leader is known as the Grand Leopard, and he coordinates all the activities of the group. Not many people know the real identity of the Grand Leopard; but who is it is not important as long as someone wields the title and gives the orders, someone will always follow them. The Grand Leopard is a title with power.

"Is that the same as the Snow Leopard?"

"No, but that's the name they are using for their local contact. I was able to find that out quickly. Only a reserved few know who this Grand Snow Leopard is."

"Hopefully Jake will be of the lucky ones…did you find our boy?"

"I think that Zack was referring to Jake Washington, twenty-eight years, from Chicago. He is known in the streets as Golden Jake for all the jewelry he's always wearing. Lately they've been calling him Mountain Man Jake. The man enjoys a very high status on the group and everybody I mentioned his name to, shuddered…didn't want to have him on his bad side and with good reason…Mountain man has an extensive criminal record. He goes by several aliases… and he has done it all…from extortion, robbery, and dealing, to even murder."

"The kind of people Joker will love to hire."

"I also have a hacker named Thomas Riverside that goes by the name of Neo…I'm hoping he knows about Garibaldi." Dick looked at the picture in the PDA for the blond hacker. According to the file, the young man had just turned twenty-two and except for some minor burglaries to computer shops had no real criminal record. Batman opened another file in his PDA. "Finally there is Ron Merckle, which they call Hawk. He's a hired gunman, knows a lot about explosives and very close to Mountain Man. I'm hoping these three have some information for me."

Nightwing looked at the redhaired boy in the picture. He looked very young but he was way on his twenties. His file reported criminal activity since he was nine. Encouraging. this one was definetely a professional. "Are we going to interrogate as always…hard and to the point?"

"This group is very close together and they seem not to be afraid of me. During the preliminary interrogatory, no one even reacted to my presence…as if I was not in the room while the police talked to them. That's going to be very difficult to work with…but I trust our powers of persuasion…" The communicator in the Knight's cowl beeped and the Dark Detective took a small unit from his utility belt. The tiny screen flickered and the image of Alfred, his butler, appeared with his white shirt wrinkled and his sleeves rolled up to the elbows; his face tired and weary. "What's going on, control?"

"Sir, sorry to interrupt you, but it's about Batgirl."

Bruce expected the worst. "What happened?"

"She followed the Leopard girl that eluded arrest during the police raid to the Howling Moon Motel in Kingston and Meredith. She tried to intercept them there but the girl attacked her with a knife and even through the armored uniform was able to produce considerable damage to her right leg… She was lucky to get a hold of me at the cave. I was able to find her and provide first aid quickly."

"Lucky indeed," said Batman severely remembering how Cassandra had disobeyed him before. That had been an unnecessary risk for Batgirl. "How's she doing?"

"She's fine right now, but she eventually will need real medical attention. She's been monitoring the hotel ever since and says that the Leopards have not left the apartment."

"I can go," offered Nightwing. "If you don't need me, I can meet her there."

"With all due respect, sir," said Alfred. "I think it is time the police should intervene in this case. According to Batgirl, these two Leopards are still armed and dangerous. I don't think they have plans of surrendering so easily."

"I agree. Nightwing, tell Gordon what's happening and have him send officers to Batgirl's location to raid the apartment. If they are still there, the police can deal with them. I'll need you in the interrogation room. We'll be more efficient if we do this together." Batman handed Dick the transmitter with Alfred's coordinates.

"Got it." Nightwing said with a disappointing sigh.

"One last thing," said Batman as Dick stopped at the door. "The normal thing would have been to leave the apartment after the location was been compromised, rather than staying. Tell Gordon to be extremely careful. He might be walking into a trap."

Batman replaced his PDA back in his belt and left the office heading towards the interrogation rooms a few doors away. He was upset about the whole situation with Cassandra's disobedience of a direct command during the operative at the Leopard's hideout, that had now resulted in her getting injured during the investigation. This inquiry was continuing to hurt people around him, and his patience with the Joker was reaching a dangerous limit. He will close in that lunatic and dispose of him like the piece of filth he was. Nightwing joined him at the door of the interrogation room. Batman entered the interrogation room and noticed that the three men were seated at a long rectangular table facing him. All of the Leopards had shackled wrists and ankles.

"Do you know why you have being brought here?" Batman asked.

"Because yer an idiot an' don't know who yer dealing wit'." Jake answered immediately stretching on the chair. He was sporting a smirk on his face.

"Oh, we know who we're dealing with," Nightwing said approaching the table. "It is you who don't know. We know you're working for the Joker guys; a psychotic Clown who enjoys killing his staff just for the fun of it when he's bored."

"Are we supposed to be scared, Bird-dung?" Merckle answered eyeing Dick evilly.

"'Course we're, Hawk. We're supposed to be scared of clowns now…and bats, aren't we, freak?" Jake said as he tugged on the shackles that rattled loudly.

"You have no idea how dangerous this man is. He's a mass murderer, who enjoys his work. The more people he kills the happier it makes him."

"An' you think that we're going to work with a wacko like that?"

"Jake, don't pretend…we know you're working for the Clown." Nightwing spat back.

"Don't fuck with me, you don't know shit, freak! I work only for my Leopard brothers and the Grand Leopard Leader." Jake said smiling smugly. This man was too cocky and obviously the leader of this pack. Batman narrowed his eyes focusing in the chained black man. Dealing with this man was like dealing with the Joker but without the humor. Cocky, fearless and senseless. Why don't these people listen to him when all he wants is to save their lives from the Joker…?

"What makes you think so, Jake?" No answer, just that sarcastic smile. "I heard that you have spoken to the Grand Snow Leopard personally. Where is he now, Jake? Probably laughing at you all. Do you really want to pay for his crimes?"

"Yo' smoking pebbles or somethin', freak? Where ya' getting' tis info…Animal Network? What Snow Leopard shit is that?"

"Some of your men decided to cooperate with the police and share some valuable information."

"And he'e we are, Bat-dope." Jake spat. "Because yer getting info from a bunch of crack-heads talking 'bout Animal Kingdom and clowns…" This man had no fear. "Yer so lost in your own city, Bat-sap it's not even funny. I think someone else is laughing…at yeh. Do yeh have any idea who it might be?"

"Jake, we know the things you've done in Brenton…" Nightwing said.

"Then you should be real concern of what I can do to you." Jake said staring at the Dark detective who was obviously annoyed. The Detective breathing had picked up slightly, his eyes narrowed to tiny white slits in his mask. Batman was starting to loose his patience with Mountain man.

"You have an extensive record, Jake." Nightwing said trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere.

"Try to keep busy." There was that sarcastic smile again.

"They say that you know who this Grand Snow Leopard is, that you've spoken with him and he gave you the city. Jake, we can offer you a deal with the attorney's office and protection if you testify against the Joker. The only thing you need to do is tell us where to find him."

"How cute! The Big Bad Bat is offering us a deal," squealed Merckle in a feminine voice from his seat while making the chains in his shackles rattle loudly. "Come 'ere, I wanna kiss you, bat-boy!" The three thugs busted into laughter.

"I'm not going to repeat the question…where is the Grand Snow Leopard?"

"The who?" Merckle retorted in a surprised tone. "Thought you were searching for a joker."

"The Joker IS the Grand Snow Leopard. Where is the Joker?"

"Say's who? _Tu mama?" _Jake laughed softly. "Yer funny, Bats."

"Why do you keep protect him...?" Batman roared slamming an angry fist on the table in front of the Leopards. "He didn't protect the Leopards I arrested last week. What makes you think he's going to protect you?"

Jake looked at him silently for a moment then let out a loud cackle. "You know yer real funny, freak? Not that I'm impressed or nuttin', but I know what you've done in this city too an' anybody can play vigilante with cowl 'n cape. It takes a real man to do things in the open, like our Grand Snow Leopard, whomever he is…I don't know nuttin' 'bout jokers but I can tell yeh this, he's a natural performer, a genius.… yeh on the other hand….just a freak. What can yeh' expect, you're nuttin' but a zoo reject."

Batman grabbed Jake by his vest and lifted him off the chair. On his communicator he could hear Gordon asking him to calm down. Nightwing approach him stopping short of a few paces between Batman and Jake.

"If your boss was that open, Jake I will be having this conversation with him instead of you. Joker is comfortably sitting somewhere in this city, while you and your brothers are stuck in here with me…and I can assure you that he doesn't give a damn of what happens to you."

"The problem with yeh and yer little group of boy scouts," Jake said signaling to Nightwing, "is you don't realize how crazy you are…livin' under the delusion you can stop crime…give me a break! Don't search for lunatics at the fair when you 'ave one in yer cave."

"Don't push your luck, Washington. You're in my town now and when dealing with Joker I will not make exceptions until I've sent that clown back to the Asylum."

"Or what, gonna spank me? Reality check, Bat-man, t'is NOT yer town no more or yeh wouldn't 'ave to claim it from the freaks every night." Jake stared into the Dark Detective's eyes, now pits of burning rage. Who was this man? Batman wanted to erase that stupid smile from the man's face with one swift uppercut but opted to lower Jake back to his seat. He needed some time away from this guy, so he turned to the others.

"Tom, what about you? Know anybody by the name Michael Garibaldi, or maybe Blip?" Batman asked walking over to Neo. Riverside eyed 'Mountain man' quickly.

"Nope, but I know a Batty666 online. That you, handsome?" Neo threw Batman a kiss laughed joyfully along with the other gang members, but Batman was not amused. This one was not going to talk as long as the other two were around.

"Merckle, are you joining these clowns in their vow of silence?"

"Clowns? And I thought we 'er Leopards." The gang busted in laughter again. "You know you have an unhealthy obsession with clowns, right Bat-dope?

"You guys don't know how deep in you are in this mess. You're aiding a well known mass murderer, responsible for over a thousand deaths and who, since his last escape has already killed eleven people, and might have you in his to do list. If you appreciate the opportunity you've been handed, you will try to save your lives and get off as much dirt off you before Joker falls."

"Yer such a loosah, Bat-freak." 'Mountain Man' interjected from his corner chair. "Don't waste our time. We're one big happy family. 'N we'er all laughing at yeh."

"We'll see about that." Batman narrowed his eyes and stared, but Jake remained there unmoving with that silly smile in his face. This Jake was starting to annoy him very much. The Detective stormed out of the interrogating room to find Gordon still standing in front of the mirror glass.

"The big guy knows how to push your buttons. Not good."

"I know Jim, and I wonder who taught him because he reminds me so much of Joker. But they're going to bulge; I promise. I just need them separated. Washington seems to be the one in charge. The other two are not as tough, especially Neo. He has hardly said a word at all."

"Batman, are you going to follow protocol?" Gordon asked with obvious concern in his eyes. Batman realized how close he had been to loosing it, for his friend to be so worried. "I can't let this continue if I don't have your word."

"Never doubt it, Commissioner. I just need the other two away from Washington."

Gordon nodded and the cops started to prepare the other interrogating rooms for the transfer of Leopards. This was going to be one long night.

* * *

Sorry...forgot to translate: _Te tengo una propuesta de negocios que no vas a poder rehusar, amigo mio (I have a business proposal you can't refuse, my friend). _Hope you all enjoyed this installment...keep the feedback coming...the good, the bad and the ugly. God Bless, until next chapter... 


	26. Plans in Motion

**Author's note: **_Thanks a million to those that have left feedback about the story. It means a lot...didn't I said this before...? Well, there is not many ways to show appreciation, and your kind comments show that...so the only way I have of showing mine is...**THANKS**. Well, the story has grown a little bit since last installment...there were things I wanted to add, after all my job is to entertain you all, and I can only entertain if I do a good job at strorytelling, so why not go the extra mile?...especially with some of you offering wonderful ideas. Hope you like where this is going. Now enjoy this chapter and leave your feedback, good or bad...just let me know what you think of the story...but first..._

Disclaimer1: Batman and related characters are property of DC COMICS

Diclaimer2: Some scenes include instances fo MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS...reader's discretion is adviced.

That said...

**CHAPTER 26: PLANS IN MOTION**

Barbara was finishing putting some makeup when the doorbell rang. She wheeled herself to the door and though the peephole saw her friend Dinah waving at her. She almost could not recognize Black Canary with the white leathery outfit and the blue denim jacket featuring the colors as well as the logo of the Four Aces. She opened the door and Dinah slipped in dancing.

"Are you ready for the concert of a lifetime, Ms. Gordon?"

"You look great! And I thought I was a little too fanatical by wearing their jewelry."Barbara said waving her hand to show off the bracelet with the Four Aces logo.

"Now, don't be shy, Babs…Nothing is too much where the Four Aces are concerned, dear. I heard they are going to sing some new material from the upcoming CD, can't wait to hear it."

"Me neither, promises to be awesome. Now, you know that I can't stay too long after the concert, right? I have work to do."

"Understood, you need to be faithful to the Bat and his curfew, right?"

"Dinah…"

"OK, sorry. This is an important case for you're working for him."

"Not only for him, but for me too. Joker is loose."

"Oh, I know, girl. That's why you need this distraction more than I do. You're obsessed with the clown already."

"I need to make sure he gets back where he belongs, before anybody else dies. That's all"

"Isn't killing his favorite pastime?"

"To get your attention, yes. He's addicted to the theatrical, the flamboyant. This time, it's different and that's what so perplexing. I need to figure out his game, before any more people die."

"Well, the Joker can count his day's of freedom, because once your mind is rested after the wonderful Four Aces music extravaganza, you're going to crack this case in no time and prove you are better detective than the Bat."

"Come on, Dinah," Barbara laughed softly, "Let's go."

Dinah started to push Barbara's wheelchair to the door. "I'm serious Barb. You are ten times better detective, I'm not kidding. After all, you're your father's daughter."

"And you are silly." Barbara laughed softly. "And probably right…let's go."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"All right Neo. Let's make this easy for all of us," said Nightwing standing by the hacker. "Your friend Jake succeeded in making Batman very angry so he's not going to be very patient with you all now. Jeez. I'm not even sure of what he will be capable of doing to you. Just come forward with some good information and maybe he will not hurt you. Do you know who Michael Garibaldi is?"

"No clue."

"Blip sounds familiar?"

"My keyboard makes blip every time I run a macro, what else is new?" Neo said smiling softly, but not looking at Nightwing.

"This is a person, Neo."

"Then I don't know anybody with that name, bird-boy, so leave me alone."

"And you probably don't know who the Grand Snow Leopard is, right?" Neo remained silent. "Neo, it's not a mystery that you guys are working for the Joker. The Batman knows that, I know that. What you don't seem to know is that this Clown doesn't care how good or how loyal you are, he's gonna have you killed. It could be today, it could be in a week…whenever the Clown feels like it, because that's what he does. He kills people. Why don't you get this load off your shoulders and tell us where he is so we can save you and your friends? Innocent people are dying because of this maniac, stop protecting him." Neo just listened quietly while tapping his fingers on the table. Nightwing put a hand over his earphone. "Well what do you know… Batman was able to get the truth out of Merckle and he said very interesting things about you, and Garibaldi."

For the first time, Neo looked at Nightwing and he looked nervous.

"There's nothing to say…You, you're lying."

"Really? Then there's nothing to worry about, right? Well, in any case, you can probably ask him yourself, because he is coming this way to get a confirmation statement from you." The door of the interrogation room opened and Batman entered silently, the black cap dragging sleekly behind him. Tom fixated his eyes on the dark figure. As Batman entered, he didn't look directly at Neo, but instead stared at Dick as he started undoing the shackles on the hacker. "Here you have him, Neo. If you have worked with Garibaldi, you should be in Joker's payroll. " Nightwing, sat on the table looking at Riverside intensely. "You're in deep trouble, now…"

"I have rights." Neo said turning to look at Nightwing but without loosing sight of the Dark Detective.

"So does the Batman. His rights start where yours end…and yours ended the moment Jake opened his big loud mouth."

"Do you know Blip?" The Dark Detective asked dryly; his voice raspy and deep.

"I told you guys I don't know no Blip."

"I think you do, hackers tend to stick together."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking abo…" Neo was interrupted by a sudden slap on the face from the dark figure. The boy rubbed his cheek when the Dark Knight leaned over the table just a within a few inches of his face.

"Hey…"

"Limit yourself to answer my questions." Batman said. "If you have any complaints you can take them to the police Commissioner."

"Once I talk to my lawyer, you're gonna be in..." Neo was slapped again, this time harder.

"You will learn one way or the other, Neo. Just answer my questions, nothing more…Now here is the question, where are Blip and the Joker?"

"Fuck you." Neo growled as a third slap fell on his face. Neo rose from the chair trying to get away but the Knight forced him down and slapped him again. Blood started to trickle from the left corner of Neo's mouth.

"You need to learn some manners, Neo, and we are not finished chatting."

"You can't do this…" The hacker riposted as he cowered on the chair when the Detective raised a black gloved hand to strike again.

"Says who?" Batman watched Neo look nervously to the double-sided glass in the room. "There's no one on the other side, Neo. The Commissioner and his department granted me some time by ourselves. It's just you and me now." Batman heard Neo swallow.

"Now you're really fucked up, buddy." Nightwing said with a large smile on his face.

"What you want from me?" Neo said softly almost to a whimper.

"You know what I want. Information.Where is the Joker?"

"I have no clue." Batman grabbed Neo by his shirt and lifted him over the table. "I swear, I swear…it's true. We'll be hanging about in that place you raided and when he needed us he will send word to us to meet him somewhere."

"And who will contact you, Jake?"

"I w-want to see my lawyer…"

"If you don't answer…there will be no need for a lawyer."

"You don't understand. If the Boss knows I'm talking he will kill me."

"he will kill you anyway, Neo, even if you don't talk. That is what we have been trying to tell you." Nightwing said. "Joker doesn't care; he just kills people because it gives him a thrill."

"No fucking kidding me, Birdie…I've seen him do it and the man is so fucking nuts that he speaks to them after he kills them. You should've seen what he did to his second in command…"

"I know what he did to Phil Trenton, Neo. I also know that four of Trenton's associates were decapitated by his orders. Believe me, I've seen him do worse. "

"No, he didn't order it, he did it with his own hands and he was joking and laughing while he did it. You understand now … why I can't say anything. I don't want that to happen to me."

"What I understand is that the lunatic has killed eleven people and hurt countless others since he escaped from the Asylum and I am going to bring a stop to his murderous spree. If I can stop him, you and your gang will be safe but since you can't tell me where the clown is hiding maybe you can answer the next question for me, just to satisfy my curiosity… Were you at the museum the night of the robbery?" Nightwing stared at the Dark Detective, confused as the interrogation was taking a different turn.

"What museum?"

Batman grabbed Neo by the shirt, pulled him over the table and and forced him on the tip of his toes. "Listen up, Neo. The night the museum was robbed my sidekick and a very close friend of mine where viciously attacked. I think that your boss is behind this and I need you to confirm it for me, so for your safety, don't make me ask roughly. Where you at the museum that night?"

"I told you man, I know nothing…" Batman slammed a fist on the Leopard's stomach. Tom bent over in pain and the Dark Detective thrust him on the chair that Nightwing had pulled over. The Dark figure lifted a black fist. Neo cowered and started panting.

"No Leopards at the museum but Jake and he didn't hurt the cat-lady." The Knight grabbed the hacker and pulled him forcibly towards him.Batman remained motionless for a moment, his eyes fixed on the hacker. Fury sparked in those blue orbs. "I told you, I told you...only Jake was at the museum."

"And who said anything about a cat-lady, Neo?" Oops, too much information. Neo was now terrified.

"I… I w-want a lawyer." Riverside whispered trying to make it sound as an order without much success. "Please…"

"I will have your lawyer here in a minute…Just tell me… Joker was at the museum and he attacked the cat-lady, didn't he?"

Neo swallowed hard while looking at the large black figure holding him almost in the air. He turned to Nightwing who was standing by his side looking at him with intense eyes. Dick cocked his head slightly and shrugged. Neo understood this was not a game. This Bat-man wanted some answers and would get them at any cost. He didn't even doubt murder was on the freak's mind. "I'm waiting for your response, Neo."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Joker entered the hideout, there were about half a dozen Leopards in the house and all of them greeted him with this look in their faces of '_look what you've done now, Clown_'. The boss did not like the feeling of uneasiness these looks produced on him; it made him feel like he was sharing the bed with a hungry lion. The rest of the people in the hideout, mostly members of Terrence's gang were watching either the news or playing cards at the table on the corner.

"Where's Blip?"

"In your office boss," said Harold, standing up to meet the Joker. "Sir, what happened to our boys?"

"Something ugly I'm trying to fix. Don't you worry about it." answered Joker heading towards his office in large strides. Inside Garibaldi was sitting at his desk, surrounded by several computer terminals and screens. Blip had done a wonderful work replacing the broken computer in Joker's office turning the place into a hacker's heaven with terminals and peripherals everywhere.

"Was beginning to worry, sir." Michael said turning around to meet Joker. "You said you were not going to be gone long and you didn't call. For a moment I thought you had been arrested."

"Never my faithful Blip," Joker stared at Blip who had a right black eye and swollen lower jaw. "And what happened to you? You look like shit."

"Had a close encounter with one of the Bat's birds."

"And here you are? I'm impressed. Did he ask you where I was hiding?"

"Yes, but I didn't say a word." Michael raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Did he tell you that get away with it you will not? That my fate you will probably share?" Joker leaned over Blip menacingly. His voice in a high falsetto range as he imitated Yoda. "Very persuasive that bird can be, no my young apprentice?" Joker started to giggle biting his tongue.

"Yes-s, sir...?" Blip answered starting to sound concerned.

"Enlighten this old clown, Blip. How did you happen to get away…? Did the Nightingale offered you your freedom in exchange of becoming his spy?"

"No, no. I swear. I was j-just lucky." Garibaldi turned around on his chair to face the Prince clown who was just staring at him with one of those smiles he knew so well. This conversation was turning dangerous...deadly. The boss was in one of his murderous moods today. "I remembered one of the t-tunnels and I escaped j-just in time. Used one of your g-gas b-bombs to confuse him…ran, and disappear from p-plain sight." Blip faked a smile.

"Lie to me, you would not, eh?" Joker said imitating Yoda again.

"No…m-master…J-Joker." Michael smiled again, the corners of his mouth quivering. "Y-you can't d-deny it was a w-wonderful escape…I-I learned t-that from you…always i-improvise."

"Maybe," said Joker staring at Blip with narrowed green eyes and raised the eyebrows "…if true that is, Hm?"

Michael swallowed hard. "I swear sir, it is… and I have the bruises to prove it…I think I have proven my loyalty before, no?"

"A-ha." There was a long silence between the two.

"And…and w-what about you…y-you said it was going to be just a m-moment and then your g-gone all night. Where d-did you go? You could've b-been arrested and everything we've worked so h-hard to…"

Joker put a hand over his chest. "I'm the Boss, Blip and I do as I please so don't question my actions…besides, I'm too smart for the pigs."

"But do you realize…?"

Joker soughed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look Blip, I'm not in the mood to argue. I just needed to talk to someone and then in the middle of the visit, WHAMM! I find out we have a situation." Joker's stare softened.

"The Leopards got busted." Michael riposted, much more comfortable with the Boss' approach and shift in the attention to something else than him.

"So you know, huh?" Joker said letting his shoulders fall heavily.

"Why you think I'm working in your office? They were all asking a whole bunch of questions."

"Well, Charley is blaming me for what happened, so I can understand the spirit of distrust that this situation has caused. That's what we're going to fix."

"Postpone the test until we fix that then?"

Joker smiled and messed Michael's hair playfully with his hand. "No, silly. Don't postpone the game…we need some fun in this gloomy city." The Clown Prince grabbed Blip by the hair and pulled the hacker's head back forcibly against the chair. Michael winced. Joker started to laugh. "And I better not find out you've been conspiring with the enemy…I don't not need another episode like Harley's, because if there is…I'm gonna have so much fun with the traitor…I'll let my imagination run wild and you know how wild I can get..."

"Boss, please…I s-swear. I'm n-not c-conspiring." Michael was feeling a shortness of air as his life ran in front of his eyes like a movie. "I'm still faithfull to the cause…"

Joker giggled childishly as he tweaked the young hacker's nose and kissed Michael tenderly on the forehead letting his head go. "Okey, Dokey, son. Now work your magic at the terminal. First, we drop the bomb and then I need you make a transfer of some cash to Sergio Ramirez' personal account."

"Is this g-oing to be another ghost t-transfer?" Michael asked still obviously shaken, looking at the Clown Prince.

"No, a real one this time. He's doing me a very important favor."

"The Hiesenbug is ready. You want me to upload it n-now?"

"Be my guest." Joker said kneeling by Blip at the computer terminal. "I need a good laugh. BOMBS AWAY!! Let this be the beginning of the end…"

Blip typed some instructions on the screen and the phone lines beeped. On the other side of the line, 911 computerized systems answered and the computer screens in Joker's office produced a large smiley face that blinked in different colors. The call dropped shortly and a large banner appeared in the top screen:

900GCED01MAIN SERVER LOG ON: SUCCESSFUL.

The smiley finally flickered in all the colors of the rainbow and transformed into an emoticon with Joker white face, green hair and ruby lips. The word HAHA appeared at the bottom. The phone line broke the connection.

"Uploading c-complete, now let's try the second target." Garibaldi said smiling complacently at Joker. The hacker was really showing off now. Joker smiled at the childish boast of his computer expert. The phone lines beeped again and an automated voice responded.

"You've reached the Gotham City Police, how can we help you?" The line went silent and another banner appeared on the screen:

GCPDSERV877J11ER LOG ON: SUCCESSFUL.

The smiley appeared on the screen and after blinking for a few seconds, the emoticon with Joker's face confirmed the successful upload. Communication dropped automatically.

"Well?" The Clown Prince asked while exchanging anxious looks between Blip and the computer monitor.

"Self contained, sir. It's gonna take a few minutes for it to replicate and take over the systems. Now I'll transfer your money, and…" Michael typed incessantly on his keyboard. The screen of an international bank appeared in the screen. "…how much you said you wanna t-transfer?

"Twenty-five grand."

"Pretty big favor." Michael said eyeing the boss.

"Gargantuan, and that's only half the payment. The rest will be transferred when he delivers. Life in Colombia mustn't be cheap." Joker chuckled.

"You sure? I will need to move some money from different accounts."

"Have no choice. Go ahead. Give away my money…" The Boss giggled. "Hope I can deduct this from my taxes."

Blip typed and clicked between screens and finally log off from the screen. "Done."

"Were you able to prepare the Arena, like I told you to?"

"I did set the building, but it's going to be limited. The cameras where a little more tricky. Don't know if we're going to have visuals."

The Clown waved a disdainful hand in front of him. "Put my voice through, that'll have to do it as a signature for now," said Joker giggling. "…because let me tell you, no one is stealing this one from us. All right, this is where the real fun begins. Let's start messing with this city's brain…" Joker rose from the floor and busted in a crazy laughter. "Commence au fest…haven't I said that before?"

* * *

Hope you like it...KEEP READING...and I shall KEEP WRITING...Again... Thanks to you all. 


	27. The Snowball Effect

**Big Time Blunder discovered and corrected...please read corrected version. Apologies for inconveniences.**

**Author's note:** _Well the summer is in full gear and hope everybody is having a lot of fun under the sun. Like I always say...thank you to all the kind souls that are leaving their feeback, it means a lot to me. Those reading and no leaving feedback...go ahead and take the challenge...I don't bite and would not get offended by friendly criticism. This is a learning process. Just say what you got in your minds... I'll like to hear it. In the meantime...here is another installment for your enjoyment...HAPPY READING!!!!_

Disclaimmer 1: Batman and all related characters are property of DC COMICS

Disclaimmer 2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Readers have been warned.

CHAPTER 27: THE SNOWBALL EFFECT

Dinah was dancing to the rhythm of the music with her hands up in the sky, closed fists following the percussion . She was in cloud nine. Barbara by her side was following the rhythm over the armrest of her wheelchair, tapping and bobbing her head constantly. Music was awesome and the lyrics divine. The concert has been so far all that they have been expecting.

The seats for the performance had been perfect. They were able to stay in the main arena, but away from the real fanatics that had surrounded the stage like ants around a picnic basket. The multitude of people could be heard singing and jumping on the floor around that stage. That was just a little too much for Barbara. From here, the acoustics worked perfectly and Barbara even had a chance to take some nice, crisp pictures with her camera phone; images she was going to treasure for the rest of her life. This had been the best concert she had been in a long time and for once, it felt good to be away from the computer terminals at her headquarters.

Dina was right when she said that she was too obsessed with the Joker, but how could she not be? The maniac had violated her with his twisted, evil sense of humor and she was determined to prevent that from happening to anybody else. Was that obsession? Maybe, but it made her feel better knowing that the Joker was locked up in the asylum rather than loose on the streets. After tonight, she will resume her work in the case and this well deserve rest is all she needed to replenish her tired mind of the thought of that grinning monster.

The speakers fluttered and the acoustics went completely silent. The band stopped and looked around confused, hoping the audio engineers could fix the problem quick before the audience started booing and screaming. It was disappointing but technical difficulties could be expected at any time, especially with equipment so complicated and specialized. Barbara just prayed that they could find the problem really soon…

"_Hi there my young noise loving audience. Joker here saluting you, live from only God's knows where in Gotham City._" The voice that came through the speakers was interrupted by a sudden burst of laughter. Dinah looked surprised but Barbara was obviously terrified. For her this was as if her worst nightmare had come true. _"Thought I was going to tell you, eh kids?"_ The Clown laughed again.

"_I took the liberty of making some changes to the program tonight. First of all: no more music for the rest of the evening…I need the silence for my sore ears. Second: I rigged the entire arena with explosives that are about to detonate anytime between now and a little bit later and promise to bring the entire building down with a bang. You know the Joker has always been good leaving human confetti around this city._"

Another cackle. "_I will encourage those of you who want to live and see another concert to rush desperately to your nearest exit. Forget about manners, forget about etiquette, because the way I see it, and I can see the detonator from here, there's no time for pleasantries. Tic, toc, tic, toc, running scared the audience goes, I hear you scream, sharing my joys; nobody kills like the Joker does…"_ Joker giggled childishly over the speakers. For the clown this obviously was a lot of fun. _"I'll pray for you all…Blessed be thee who reach the exit first for thee will live longer and for thee that will never reach the exit_…_well you're all fucked up because I'm gonna blow you to bits. Amen. Ha, ha, ha. Enjoy the program, kids…this one is for the books. "_

There was a loud guffaw and the speakers went dead, and Barbara was finally able to hear the screaming, crying and cursing from the audience. By now, Dinah was doing her best to push Barbara in her wheelchair through the sea of people that had started to flood the ground level. Unfortunately, the progress was slow.

Barbara happy moment of rest had quickly turned into a guilt trip. She couldn't help to think that all this had happened because she let her guard down, by leaving her post at the computer terminal. She should've been in the main room trying to crack the Joker's game instead of taking time off the investigation to go to the concert. This was all her fault and now the lunatic was going to blow up this entire building killing fifty thousand people inside. She herself was going to be among the victims, if she couldn't get to an exit soon enough.

"Dinah, we need to call the police, I'm not sure they know what's happening yet." Barbara said, searching in her tiny purse.

"First, I need to get you out of here," said Black canary, making great efforts to get Barbara in her wheelchair against the wall. Advancing in this sea of hysterical people was mission impossible. "And I'm gonna call reinforcements."

"I'm going to call Batman." Barbara reached for her cell phone and dialed the number that served as a direct link to the cape crusader. The number filtered through her computer network so the call could not be traced by conventional methods. She only would use this link when there was an emergency.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the interrogation room, Bruce was alerted by the headphones in his cowl of an emergency call from Oracle. Something important must have come up for her to use this signal. Batman walked towards a wall for some privacy, while the Leopard he was interrogating sighed in relief.

"What's going on, Oracle?"

"I'm in the Davenport Arena and the Joker just announced through the speakers that the entire building is wired with explosives he's going to detonate anytime. There are fifty thousand people trying to leave this place at once. It's a pandemonium."

"Damn, I'll be heading over as soon as I can," said Batman turning around to face the Leopard and his police escort. His eyes were narrow and angry, and Neo swallowed very hard.

Batman approached the table and grabbed Neo by his shirt slamming a fist flat on his face. The hacker raised his arms trying to protect himself from the crazy man in black but the Batman pushed the man's hands down forcibly and pulled him closer to him.

"Hey, I've been sharing…"Neo's lip was starting to swell and there was blood coming from the hacker's nose.

"Tom, if anybody at the Arena gets hurt because of Joker, you and your friends are going to see a side of me not many people see… and I'm going to make sure you all pay for every death he causes. Is that clear?"

"What Arena?" Neo asked puzzled. The Batman slapped him again and pushed him against the table. Neo lost his balance and fell to the floor painfully.

The Leopard just stared at the dark figure, his pupils very dilated and sweat had started to become visible on his forehead. "Officer, make sure this piece of trash is secured in a cell all by himself so he can think a little in what I've said. I'll continue this interrogatory later. Nightwing, you need to reach the Arena as quickly as you can and make sure Oracle is safe. I'm going to coordinate the rescue with Gordon. I will post you as soon as I can."

"All right. Meet you there." Nightwing said disappearing out the door.

Outside the room, Gordon met with the Dark Detective. "I'm glad to see you're still here. We have a situation."

"I know, Commissioner. We have to evacuate everybody in the Davenport Arena and soon."

"Davenport Arena?" Gordon answered with a concerned face. The Commissioner definitely did not know what Batman was talking about. That couldn't be good.

"The Joker loaded the building with explosives that he's threatened to detonate them…thought you knew."

"The Four Aces concert?" asked Gordon with now a terrified tone of voice. Batman nodded. "Oh God, Barbara called me yesterday and said that she was going to go to that concert. If that son of a bitch hurts her again…"

"The Arena is filled to capacity with now terrorized people. Mobilize all your effectives to the Arena; we need to act now and rescue as many as we can."

"Well, that's the situation… and maybe the reason why we have not been alerted about the Arena. There are no 911 emergency services available and we don't have way of mobilizing anything using the Department's computers. Our systems are locked up."

"No 911? The whole department locked up? But how?"

"Don't know…but whatever it is, made both systems crash. Neither the phone lines nor the computers respond, but instead they seem to be running a videogame of some sort. We've had to communicate using our private cell phones." Gordon motioned to one of the computer terminal on the floor where the screen projected a small yellow round ball with a green tuft on top of it and a large mouth running through a maze and being chased by a group of colorful bats. "The same videogame is playing on the computers at 911 headquarters too. Same exact game…it doesn't take a genius to figure out who is behind this…"

Batman growled. "That's how Joker plays games, only this time he and Garibaldi have gone too far. We need to deploy the bomb squad and the Fire department to the Arena somehow. Also we need to alert the National Guard. This is more than your department can deal with at this moment now that Joker has successfully crippled your computer system. Do your best to reach everybody…I'll get my equipment to the Arena to help defuse the explosives. Meet you there."

Gordon reached for his cell phone and started yelling instructions while Batman left the building to reach the Arena as soon as he could. If communications within the police headquarters and the 911 central were hindered, coordinating efforts by the authorities was going to be slow. Not only that, the emergency hotline was the only lifeline of the sick and the needy. Not able to get through 911 will be the difference between life and death for many at the same time that with the rescue efforts will come to an almost complete stand still, the bomb will explode and kill hundreds if not thousands of people in one night.

Batman got in the elevator and headed to the garage. Pressing a button on his utility belt activated the Batmobile's autopilot and the car met him at the entrance of the garage. Jumping quickly into the cockpit, he sped out of the garage en route to the Davenport Arena.

This had been the one of the wildest things the Joker has done in a long time, and by far the most threatening. He knew that the Joker's violence was escalating rapidly, and he should have seen this coming. The maniac was now not getting enough thrills with murdering people one by one but instead now needed to kill by the thousands and the Arena looked the perfect stage for the lunatic. But it was not all the Clown had planned for that night…with the police headquarters and the 911 emergency systems locked in that video game that Joker had planted in the system, the death toll could actually double that night.

How many people that needed emergency medical services will not be able to get an ambulance tonight? How many people will die because the fire department could not save them from their burning homes? What other emergencies will have to be ignored tonight? God only knew, but this maniac needed to be stopped and soon. What was that clown capable of doing next…?

The plan seemed simple. Get to the arena and disarm the explosives before the Joker detonated them, but how long did he had before the explosives went off and most importantly, how was he going to get to them when there was still a few thousand people in the premises and possibly as many still inside the building? He was only one man, how was going to save all those innocent people? The communication unit in the Batmobile console beeped.

"Batman here." He answered by automatic reflex.

"Bruce, this is Clark. We received communications from Black Canary of explosives in the Davenport Arena. The League wants to join forces with you and the city for the rescue effort."

"Thanks. Only information I have is that the entire building might be loaded with explosives and knowing Joker there could be some other surprises hidden inside waiting for you, so be careful."

"Alright. I'm almost at the Arena and the team is following close. See you there, Bruce."

_See you there, Clark.—_thought Batman in the silence of his vehicle.—_and thanks a million times_.-- That will make the rescue of the victims easier than if he had to be doing this alone, but the Joker was his problem, not the League's and it bothered him to have the entire team after a crazy lunatic. There had to be a way of putting a hold on the Joker's revolving door practices at Arkham.

"Alfred," Batman called to the communications computer that immediately started dialing the number.

"Yes, sir?" A familiar voice answered.

"The Joker has set explosives at the Davenport Arena and is going to blow the entire building with fifty thousand people inside. Garibaldi has hacked into the computers at the Police Department and the 911 system and rendered them useless for the rescue efforts."

"Oh my God…." The butler whispered obviously moved by the news.

"I don't know if I can get into the Arena to find and neutralize the explosives with all those people still inside so I will need you to get the Bat-glider ready for launching. I might need alternate access route to the building. Are you back in the cave?"

"Just got back. I shall have the Glider ready in no time, sir."

"One more thing, Alfred... How's Cassandra doing?

"Well, considering she's been stabbed in her right knee...She was lucky that the blade did not cut a tendon or an artery... I think her pride is the one suffering the most."

"She should have been more careful...that lady is not an amateur. It was an unnecessary risk."

"Not that I should speak on her behalf, sir. but she just wanted to lend a hand..."

"That still doesn't excuse her disobeying my direct order not to follow her. But that is in the past now...the good thing is that she is safe now."

"And the police was starting to surround the building when we left...they should have them in custody very soon. I do not think they can escape without being noticed."

"I'm hoping that's true...I have an suspiscion that the Leopard Lady is very intimately related to the Joker...I would even say she's his right hand. If that's true she will be the link we need to get to the Joker." Batman took the ramp to the expressway. "I will call you when I need the Glider…Batman out."

Batman grasped the Batmobile's steering wheel tightly. He hated to be a pawn in this game that the clown was playing…it was not only humiliating, it was dangerous. What if he couldn't stop the Joker…NO! He had to be able to stop the Joker or Gotham city will be doomed, but it is that so far the clown seemed to be miles ahead of him, and he seemed to be stumbling at any effort to close into the lunatic.

His breakthrough were the Leopards arrested at their hideout, and of those only Neo was able to share information, from second hand, about the group's dealings with the Joker. At least he had confirmation on the Joker present at the museum, Trenton and his gang's death and the murder of a military official. He already had suspected about the Clown's involvement on most, but the murder of the military official, seemed out of place. Why would Joker want to kill a high ranking military officer? He didn't have a name and he will need Gordon's help to follow that lead. Somehow deep inside he felt that this military officer could be the intermediary between Joker and the Pentagon, and trying to join that clown with the Nation's defense gave him a chill. What was the Joker up to…?

He will put an end to that maniac before he'll need to figure that one out. He had to. This had gone too far. Too many people have been threatened, killed or maimed by this monster. There was only one question that remained to be answered… where was the joke in killing all these people at once? For Joker there always had to be a punch line…

* * *

_Ooops...found a horrendous timeline blunder that needed to be corrected. Luckily it does not affect the plot in any major way, but for those of you that read it...well now you got a freebee... Sorry for any inconveniences that this mistake caused...will be more careful when posting..._

Well. There you have it...hope you like it...Hope to hear from you all. Have a nice Summer!!!!!

I will try to post soon the next chapter...still working on the little rascal...tricky now that I had to correct the timeline...


	28. Backstage Pass

Author's note: To all my friends...thanks for the awesome feedback. This chapter is for you guys... For my other silent fans...I am not forgetting you...the chapter was written with the same love... Please enjoy and let me know that you think...

Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters belong only to DC COMICS

Disclaimer 2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS...readers beware.

CHAPTER 28: BACKSTAGE PASS

Joker did not think it was funny enough. All those people running around like chickens with their heads cut off was not funny at all. Maybe it will make much sense later, while drinking a cup of tea and reminiscing the old days amongst friends, but right now, it was the biggest waste of an otherwise good punch line. The Clown Prince sat at the computer watching the live online news broadcast on the Arena incident, his chin resting on his hand while tapping his temple with his fingers. What a waste of time. There were other people he could be killing right now that will provide much more entertainment than this pandemonium. Joker sighed disdainfully.

"What now sir?" Blip asked entering the office with a can of soda in one hand and half a sandwich in the other. He looked tired, after two many hours without sleep setting all the details for the boss' plans.

"We sit and wait." Joker sighed sadly.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, we sit and we wait."

"Don't you think it will be a better idea to play with them a little? The police and emergency communications have been crippled, this is the time to act and benefit from it. We could do anything we want and the police will not interfere."

"You really think this is a game, don't you?" Joker said looking at Michael disdainfully.

"I thought you said you wanted to play with this city…"

"Oh, I'm playing with this city…look at the chaos…a masterpiece," Joker motioned to the monitor image. "…but the Davenport Arena is just a diversion to take the Caped Crusader and the Gotham pigs' attention off the Leopards' back and return it to me to buy Sergio some time. And to think that I had no time to prepare a proper punch line…" Joker rested his forehead on his hands over the desk as if he was praying.

"If the Bat is at the arena, then…"

"Then Sergio has enough time to do me a little favor without having to worry about the nocturnal fauna. Until then, I can't do anything else."

"I don't get it." Blip said sipping on his soda while he sat at the keyboard. Joker lifted his head from the table.

"Let's just say that I'm not the Leopards' best friend at the moment, and until I can make them happy again, I can't play anymore. House rules." Joker rested his head on the desk again. "Oh, the responsibilities of adulthood… sob, sob. I don't wanna grow up, Blip. I wanna be a Toys-R-Us kid forever and ever. Have fun all the time…why am I not having fun yet?" His cell phone rang, the characteristic laughter of the Joker now transformed into a ring tone. Joker fumbled absentmindedly into his pocket, extracted his phone, looked at the ID caller, and frowned. "Why are you calling me, Charley? Thought I did tell you…."

"Shut up, Clown. I told you that they will be after me too, I just fought a Bat."

"What?" Joker straightened on his chair. "You fought with Batman?" A wide smile appeared on the Boss' face.

"No, not Batman, idiot. This one's a girl, but she was dressed up as a Bat. I think she's one of his sidekicks."

"You fought a lady Bat…." Joker repeated the statement, mesmerized by Charley's words. "Interesting. Wait a minute…I know you, Charley…is she still breathing?"

"Think so…I don't know. I fought her but didn't have a chance to kill her. I injured her and when I was almost ready to do her, the fucking bitch just jumps off the balcony. It's crazy…"

"No, it's typical of the species…" Joker stretched on the chair and stared into the ceiling setting a weary hand over his forehead. "Hmm, no good, Charley…no good. The Bat-lady is probably calling reinforcements and that means the Bat-clan is coming too close for comfort."

"No kidding…and it's your entire fault."

"No, it's the Bats. His figuring that I'm not playing by my old rules, so he's not playing by his either. Sending a woman to hunt you down… HA! He must've run out of Robins after I killed the last one." Joker laughed loudly over the phone.

"It's not funny. This was not your regular sidekick, Joker. This girl really knew how to fight. She must be a professional. She could give as well as she could receive. You should've seen her, it's like I was fighting the Big Bad Bat, but with boobs."

"Cute image you just provided, Charley," Joker couldn't hold a smile. "Still there's the problem that where there is one bat, more will follow. You need to leave your present location."

"No fucking kidding me, Mr. Einstein. Only problem being… I don't know this city, so I don't know where the hell to go…unless you can beam me up, Galileo."

"Scotty, Princess. Scotty…You are very funny, Charley. Funny as a stroke." Joker sighed and motioned Blip to let him sit at the computer for a moment. Michael moved out of the chair and the Clown Prince sat in front of the monitor, opened a window to the internet, and typed a search. "Another comment like that, totally out of context, and I'll cancel your act. Permanently. When are you people going to learn that only I make jokes around here?"

Joker kept cutting and pasting searches and typing quickly over the keyboard. "All right, so you don't go around saying I don't do things for you and your friends…I'm gonna let you on a little truth about me…and when you know the truth, the truth will set you free…literally." Joker laughed loudly over the phone. "Where is the apartment you're in located, Princess?"

"I don't fucking know, I told you…"

"Shit, watch your language!" The Clown giggled joyfully.

"Joker, stop playing!"

"Name of the motel…please. At least you know that from when you registered, no?" Joker said dryly ignoring her rant as he continued to scroll through a series of screens on the monitor of the computer in his office. Charley, in the meantime, looked around the living room of the apartment and noted that there was a writing table and a pen on top of the night table. She walked over and saw that the heading of the small notebook was the information the Joker had asked.

"Howling moon." Charley told him the address. "What kind of name is that for a motel, anyways...? What are you gonna do, Joker?"

"Get your ass out of there. Be patient, Princess." The boss giggled softly as he typed the name of the motel and the address appeared on the screen. He pasted the information onto a map search. "Do you have a balcony?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now if you look straight out through the balcony you will see a large tower with the blinking light on top. Can you see it?"

"Tower…" Charley said looking out the balcony door. In the distance, she could see three towers with blinking lights on top. "Joker, which one of them...I see quite a few."

"The one that looks like a church tower, you know Old gothic style with a cross on top…." Joker exhaled audibly. "You don't go to church, do you?…Bad girl…" The Clown giggled over the phone. "It's the one closest to you, darling."

"Yes, I see it now."

"That's gonna become your beacon. It's the Gotham Cathedral Bell Tower and if you can see the tower and the large glass rosette on the face of the tower, you are looking northeast. That's where you need to go." In the hideout, Joker continued clicking several tags on the screen and finally arrived to a large map of the city.

"You want me to walk in a city with bats and pigs that are dying to nail my ass? You're nuts… The pigs are gonna eat me alive…"

"You have an outstanding talent to state the obvious…"

"Don't fuck with me, Joker. I'm tired, scared, and bleeding through my nose…I'm really not in the mood…"

Joker kept typing and clicking. "That's always been your problem…you're never in the mood." The Clown Prince giggled.

"That's it, I'm fucked up. How can you be joking in a moment like this? They are about to arrest me and you joke about it…I don't plan on falling alone on this one, Clown. "

"No, not quite fucked yet. I need you to go down…let me rephrase that… (giggle, snicker) Take the stairs, not the elevator, down to the second floor of the motel, turn right, then grab the fire escape ladder and exit the building. I've come to learn that bats like to ambush thugs on elevators. That alley is a dead end where homeless sometimes gather, and you will have to move quickly so the homeless don't see you. If they do see you…just kill them. No need to leave loose ends now. There will be a manhole located to your left towards the street. Look at the cathedral and get through the manhole. You'll hit a tunnel at the bottom, turn in the direction you saw the tower, and no matter what, keep straight."

"Is this safe?"

"Very. No crocodiles on the sewers... Well, maybe one. If you see Killer Croc down there just tell him that it's time to pay his Clown dues…he'll know what you're talking about." Joker cackled. "I know the surface of the city as well as I know its foundation. That's my little secret… you like my little secret, Princess?"

"You better be telling me the truth…" Charley walked out of the balcony towards where Derek still laid unconscious and patted him on the face. The blond man moaned as she shook him around. He finally opened his eyes and she motioned him to remain silent by pressing a finger against his mouth.

"Have I ever betrayed you? I'm even working hard to get your feline friends back."

"We'll see… And where is this going to take me, Joker?"

"Away. One word of advice. If that girl fought as well as you said, she might also be as resourceful as the real thing. I would suggest you do a quick change of clothes in case she planted a tracking device on you. Just to be on the safe side, Princess. Where you do it is your choice, but make sure it's before you hit the subway tracks."

"The sub…"

"SHUT UP, BITCH! THE BATGIRL MIGHT BE LISTENING! Jeez!" At the computer, the Clown Prince of Crime ran an impatient hand through his green wild hair letting out a sigh. "Call me when you hit the tracks, Princess, OK?" The call was dropped.

Charley was still confused but the thought of sirens, patrol cars and an army of Bats all around the building, terrified her. She took a quick look around the balcony to see if the Batgirl was visible. Nothing moved on the shadows. She surveyed over the balcony rail down the empty street. No sign from the Batgirl, but there was unusual movement of cars in the street. Charley stayed down for the moment and noticed some red and blue lights flashing further down the road. A patrol car. The patrol car stopped in front of the Howling Moon. More cars, some without lights started to silently surround the building.

This was becoming a very delicate situation. Those cops down there were not doing regular patrolling. The Batgirl must have notified the police department, and they here for them. Moving away from that building was the only logical way out, but could she trust the Joker? She wasn't so sure anymore. The man's behavior was erratic, and this could only be one of his jokes, or worst yet, a way of disposing of her, permanently.

However, what if the Joker was saying the truth? The Clown had demonstrated that he had absolute knowledge of the intricate schedules at the asylum, why couldn't he also have knowledge of the detailed underground maps of this city. Gotham was a very old city, and the possibility of unused service tunnels and subway tracks was a real possibility. She felt against the wall, with a sword against her throat. Not a good feeling, especially when she will have to trust the Clown blindly again, just like in the asylum.

"Come on, Derek. It's been a long night. Let's go in."

"Go in?" Derek asked rising from the floor and rubbing his head. "What just happened? I saw this shadow and… what are those lights? Pigs?"

"Derek…please. It was nothing and I'm tired. Let's just go back inside."

"Oh my God…the pigs have us surrounded! We need to do something." Said Derek almost hysterically. Charley put a finger on her lips, grabbed the blond man by his hand and walked him back to the inside of the apartment under protest, securing the doors to the balcony with the lock. Inside, she turned the lights off, and almost to a whisper, the Leopard leader updated him of all that had transpired after he was unconscious and her conversation with the Joker. And explained that their only chance would be to go with the Joker and pray this was not one of his jokes.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the Joker's hideout, Michael started to massage his forehead, a sign that he was starting to get nervous. He leaned over the Clown Prince at the computer monitor.

"If Charley faced a Bat, we are in deep shit, Boss. The Batman is on top of us."

"If the flying rodent was really that close, Blip…Charley would have been arrested, and I wouldn't have spoken with her. Charley is a clever girl. She'll loose the Batgirl". Ha! A Bat-lady…" Joker slammed a fist on the table. "…and I always thought that the Bat had no soft spot for the girls. It seems that the Dynamic Duo just turned into the Dynamic Trio…" The Clown Prince answered closing the map window and reopening the one with the news broadcast from the Arena. He looked at the video news attentively. "Truth is that he's getting too close for comfort, and it's time to put some more distance. We still have Sergio."

"And…what is Sergio gonna do now, Boss?"

"Sergio is to do what he has being paid to do… don't be impatient my young grasshopper, I'm playing my cards very…WHAT IS THAT?!!" Joker said pointing with an angry gloved finger at the screen where a black man dressed up in a black and green costume was holding about a dozen people in a green bubble of light coming from his hand. Behind him, a man dressed up in blue tights and a red cape flew through the spotlights of the Arena building.

"That would be Green Lantern, and maybe Superman?" Garibaldi said closing in the screen.

Joker rose from the chair and reaching for his gun pushed Michael against his mahogany desk. Blip tripped and fell to the floor. He tried to rise back up, but Joker forced him down with his .38J pressed firmly between his eyes.

"Oh, no, don't get up until you explain this to me…what the fuck are those freaks doing in my city? I didn't invite them to this party. Isn't it enough that I have to handle two…make that three costumed freaks but now I have to deal with a whole League of them? Get me Luthor …get me the Injustice League… get me a milkshake!!" Joker roared. "STRAWBERRYS AND CREAM!!!!"

"Sir, I'm sorry. It's not my fault, I swear, please?" Blip was about to start crying.

"And whose fault is it? Who the hell called them? The Bat? I'm really disappointed Batsy… someone could say that you couldn't handle me." Joker busted in laughter while he pressed the barrel against Michael's forehead. "Are we that difficult to handle, Blip…?"

"Please sir, don't kill me… I beg of you…"

"Answer my question or I'll give you a lobotomy, kid." Joker said with a menacing growl.

"You're only difficult when you lose your temper, sir." sputtered Blip while Joker looked at him intently, a hint of a smile still on his face. Joker pulled back the gun and used its barrel to scratch the side of his head. His smile widened.

"Is that supposed to be funny, Blip?

"N-no, but you j-just asked… you're loosing…your temper."

"SHUT UP, NERD! Heh, heh. Yes. I lost that a long time ago, Blip, along with a lot of other things I've lost and I haven't been able to find anywhere. That day I promised myself nothing will make me unhappy anymore…and look at me now. Oh well…" Joker smiled, replaced the gun in his holster and sat giggling back at the computer looking at the monitor as if nothing had transcended. He motioned Blip to seat beside him. "Didn't mean to scare you, Blip. No hard feelings, eh? It's just who we are … and I'm such a joker. Now you come here, little rascal… I need the Legion out of Gotham, Blip, and I need that little package deployed now."

"The b-big one?"

"Yes, the big one. The one that's been feeling your dreams lately." Joker pointed a finger to the hacker's head as if wielding a gun. "Hurry up, I don't have all day, and don't want me to lose my temper again…do you?" The Joker repeated the last few words of the sentence and started to laugh.

Blip crawled to the chair and sat by the boss, starting to type aggressively in the keyboard; his hands were shaking and the fact that Joker was very attentive at the whole procedure did not ease the feeling that his life was hanging from thin air. He felt hyperventilating again…he was about to pass out. The video newscast in the monitor was then interrupted by a blue screen with a large eagle in a white circle. Blip typed a username and a password.

"T-This is going t-to take a l-little longer than the one at the p-police station."

"Don't worry, Blip. We have plenty of time to kill." Joker said with a loud cackle and patted Blip on his back. "Did you hear that? Kill…" The Clown Prince started to laugh maniacally in his chair. "…wow, I have not even pulled the trigger once and the death toll keeps raising…boy, I'm good." Joker busted in laughter once more.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Arena had turned into a real turmoil. Some people were screaming, some others were running around senselessly and Barbara even noticed that some still stayed on their seats just looking around aimlessly, maybe frozen of fright or just waiting for a miracle. The exits were congested with hundreds if not thousands of people pushing against each other in an effort to be the next ones to leave the building. Barbara and Dinah were in the middle of this chaos with a few hundred of people all around them.

Dinah was doing her best effort pushing Barbara's wheelchair through this sea of people, but the progress towards the exits could only be measured in millimeters. No one cared if she was on a wheelchair or not, the only thing in these people's minds was getting out of this building as soon as possible before it exploded. All around her, Barbara could see the horror and the despair in the face of people with their focus on their own survival, and all this, gratuitously brought by the Clown Prince of Crime. She wondered if the lunatic had also set cameras inside the building to watch this spectacle. He was capable of that and right now, he was probably laughing at all this.

Not too far from her, Barbara saw a bright yellow raised lump on the floor. It wasn't moving of its own free will, but the people around it pulled and pushed at it mercilessly. She was able to move a few feet ahead and closer to the lump to realize that it was a girl, probably not older than seventeen with her eyes wide open, blood trickling from her mouth, lying lifelessly on the floor after being stomped over my the multitude. Barbara's eyes filled with tears, another of Joker's victims lay there dead on the floor, and the maniac was still on the loose. That was a horrendous sight…one that she will never be able to forget as long as he lived, if she was able to survive this ordeal.

"Dinah, you all right?" said a voice from above her. Barbara looked up to see Superman hovering slowly on top of her and Black Canary.

"Yes, but we're stuck." Dinah said to the hovering figure, at the same time she was holding tightly to the wheelchair while she was pushed around by the crowd. "This is Commissioner Gordon's daughter and there's no way I can cruise with a wheelchair through this mess." There were people screaming and running in all directions around them.

"Don't worry," said Superman lowering himself very close to Barbara. He gently grabbed the wheelchair in his hands. "Miss Gordon, I need you to push yourself up towards me and hold on tight. Everything is going to be fine."

Barbara nodded and ran her arms around the Man of Steel's neck. He really felt like made up of solid steel, warm solid steel. Superman stood up and held her gently in his arms. He signaled Black Canary to join him.

"Thanks, but now I can help this people get out. See you."

Black Canary disappeared in the multitude of frenzied people. A tiny cold hand clasped on the Man of Steel's extended hand. It was a black boy, no more than fourteen, with his eyes open so wide that Barbara thought they were about to come out of its orbits.

"Please…" The boy pleaded frantically. "My mom don't know I'm here and my ride is gone. Help me." The last words came like a whisper. Superman signaled with his hand to the boy to come closer to him. The boy complied and Superman wrapped an arm around his torso and rose into the air. He could feel the tug of people trying to get a hold of his cape but tried to ignore it; he could only carry so much people at once. He raised high over the multitude of screaming people calling at him desperately towards the higher levels of the Arena, and reached the balcony that was open to the outside. He silently moved though the air to where the police had set a perimeter, about a mile from the building and lowered himself to the ground, handing Barbara to one of the officers.

"This is the Commissioner's daughter, take her to safety and this boy needs to let her mother know where he is. I'll be back with more people." As soon as he had said the last syllable, he took off to the air once more, and almost like a speeding bullet, flew back in direction of the Arena. Barbara felt that her heart was thumping in her chest, and until now, she did not realize she was trembling like a leaf in the Autumn breeze. All this looked like a dream, a very bad dream. Another officer had taken care of the young boy and was taking them to a nearby patrol car, while he tall officer that had received her from Superman's arms took her quickly to one of the ambulances and sat her on one of the stretchers; a paramedic quickly went to her.

"Relax, Miss. Everything is going to be just fine."

"No, it's not," she answered back with tears filling her eyes again. "Not until that lunatic is behind bars."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Commissioner Gordon was moving quickly though the halls of the Police department in direction of the garage. There were people running up and down the building, all of them with cell phones activated.

"Terry, did you get a hold of the National Guard?" The Commissioner ran an absentminded hand over his white moustache. "We have an emergency here."

"The governor just authorized it. Two units have been mobilized already and two more are on stand by after the situation is assessed. The Justice League has joined forces with the fire department and is helping with the evacuation of the building and the premises.

"God bless them. We're going to need all the help we can get," said Gordon as he reached the garage level looking around for his patrol car. He could hear the screeching noise of the other units living the garage at top speed.

"The bomb squad personnel has been already been deployed to the scene and several ambulances have arrived to the police perimeter, waiting for the injured."

"Good, notify all the hospitals in the city to be ready to receive the victims; and tell them the truth…there could be a lot of victims."

"Yes, sir. "

A patrol car stopped in front of Gordon and he climbed into the unit's front passenger seat. He was still on the phone when they drove away. "Terry, contact the engineering firm that remodeled the building and have them get every single plan of the Arena. Make sure the bomb squad gets them, pronto."

"Understood sir."

"I'm heading to the Arena right now to join the efforts. Call me if there are anything changes in the circumstances. I'll try to contact Barbara and see if she's OK. Bye." Gordon hung up the call and opened the phone list on his cellular.

"Crazy night ain't it?" said the officer driving the patrol car.

"You tell me, it can't be any worse." Gordon looked through the side window and something didn't seem right. They were not heading for the Arena. He turned to the driver.

"I wouldn't try any heroics, sir. Could you give your gun, cell phone, and badge to my friend behind you?"

The Commissioner looked with the corner of the eye and saw a second kidnapper aiming a revolver to his head. He must've been hidden in the darkness of the back seat. Gordon did as he was told. "Who hired you?"

"A mutual friend, but don't break a sweat, commissioner. Just sit and relax. This is going to be a long trip. Better now, take a nap." The kidnapper in the back seat was quick and Gordon felt something hard hit his head. His vision tunneled and stars sparkled in front of his eyes, then everything darkened and there was a total silence.

* * *

Well, there you have it...Hope you all like it...let me know your opinions on the chapter OK? Well next installment coming soon...until then...Wonderful summer and GREAT JULY 4TH!!!!!!!!

* * *


	29. The Discovery

**Author's Note:**_ Hello...As always I will start by thanking all of my readers for following up the story so faithfully. This story was written with a lot of love for those of you who love Mr. Joker as much as I do...so enjoy. This chapter is especially dedicated to a very good friend of mine that might have gotten kind of upset when I 'killed' one of her favorite characters...darling, I shall fix the ambiguity in this chapter, and this chapter is for you,..enjoy the reading. For those of you reading the story...continue with the feedback, positive feedback is always good and helps with my muse...I am getting some ideas for future Joker stories...some of them spawned from this story, I need your feedback to know if you would like to hear those stories. I am willing to share them as long as there is people interested in listening. Well that is all for now...I will leave you with the chapter that I hope is of your liking. Let me know how you feel about it..._

Disclaimer 1: Batman and all characters belong only to DC COMICS...my only character is nerdy Michael Garibaldi.

Disclaimer 2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS so please use discretion when reading...

With no more delay...

**CHAPTER 29: THE DISCOVERY**

Batman finally arrived to the Arena. Traffic had been a living nightmare and the perimeter set by the police department was filled with patrol cars, ambulances, fire trucks and a large amount of bystanders that wanted to see the news from up close instead of staying safe at home watching the newscasts. He got out of the vehicle and ran behind the Batmobile. The trunk opened automatically at a command from his utility belt and he retrieved a two black suitcases. Leaving the trunk close automatically, the Dark Detective walked with his suit cases to where the police officers where gathered. A few yards away he saw officer Montoya talking to Detective Bullock.

"What's the update in the situation?" asked the Dark Knight while setting the suitcases on the floor.

"We don't have lists of the people inside but thanks to the League, we estimate most of the people have left the Arena." Bullock said.

"…And a visual survey inside the building confirms exactly that. The League is now finishing searching the building for the explosives" The Man of Steel said as he flew slowly above them.

"Were you able to find any yet?" Batman asked to the Kryptonian.

"No." Superman said landing among the group. "The rest of the team is still searching, but my side of the building didn't have anything. Not even a firecracker. I even looked into the foundation without any luck. I really don't think there are any explosives in there. "

"That's odd. Joker is usually good with his threats." Bullock sounded confused.

"Indeed, didn't the Joker say the entire building was loaded with explosives?" Superman asked holding up a beeping communicator, he lifted a hand asking to be excused for taking this call. "Yes, Flash."

"My quadrant is empty, nothing, zilch, nada."

"Understood, join me outside. We'll wait for the rest of the League." He closed his communicator. "That's half the building and though the bomb squad will have to confirm the findings, I don't think we're going to find anything. Why would someone cause so much chaos for nothing?"

"It's the Joker, need another excuse?" The Caped Crusader said opening one of the suitcases to reveal sophisticated electronic equipment with some strange looking attachments. Batman started to put the pieces together. "This will allow us to read the signature of the detonator…it has to be something that Joker can activate by remote control."

"You think that there is no real detonator within the building?" Montoya asked moving over to help the Detective put the equipment together.

"Yes there is one…but Joker would not let the explosion occur randomly…especially knowing that we were going to try to stop him. He will make sure he can make the building explodes no matter what. Interfering with that signal will give us some time at the same time will help us the location of the detonator."

"This is…just crazy." The Kryptonian said.

"Remember who you're dealing with…" interjected the Crusader.

Superman shook his head and looked at Bullock. "Detective, there are bodies inside the building that need to be taken care of. Get the ambulances ready for when we get the building is cleared."

"Bodies?" Batman asked rising suddenly from the floor to face the Kryptonian. Fury was burning under the cowl. 

"Yes…they are piled close to the exits. I think they were crushed in the initial frenzy. I'm… Sorry." Superman looked sadly at Batman and noted the tension building up on the detective's face, the Knight's fists clenched tightly and the jaw tightened.

"…and the Clown didn't even have to use a single bullet…" Detective Harvey Bullock said leaving for a patrol car nearby, where he started to talk another officer.

The Man of Steel could have sworn he heard a deep guttural growl from Batman, like a vicious snarl from and animal about to pounce. The Dark detective's eyes were icy cold and he heard a change in the Dark Knight's heart beat. Superman's communicator beeped again…neither Green Lantern nor Wonder Woman was able to find any explosives in the building. That was confirmation for his suspicions. "May I speak with you?"

"Later, there's work to do." Batman said turning around and walking back to the equipment on the floor.

"Batman, I don't think there are any explosives in the Arena….the team just finished surveying the building and they couldn't find anything."

"There's only one way of making sure…" Batman answered dryly without looking up.

"The League would have found them…or at least a lead." Superman said walking within a few paces from where Batman was finishing setting up the equipment.

"With Joker…always expect the unexpected."

"If you want…I can have them check again….it's just that I don't think they are going to find anything."

"You don't know Joker as I do," Batman roared rising from the floor and turning angrily to Superman "…so let me do my job…I said we talk later."

"No. We speak now." Superman responded dryly and demandingly setting off into the air and lifting Batman with him. They both settled down on top of a nearby building.

"What's wrong with you?" Batman yelled at the same time he took the bat-grappler from his utility belt. "This is an emergency we're dealing with here. I have no time for this…"

"Hold it Bruce. I told you that there are no explosives in the building, I can't even hear the detonating mechanism…Don't you trust me?" Superman said with obvious indignation in his voice. Batman didn't even looked at him, just kept walking towards the ledge. The Kryptonian soughed. "…and I'm more worried about you. You're extremely tense. You need to release that tension or you are going to snap and make a big mistake later. Anything you want to tell me?"

"I can't believe you brought me up here for this?" Batman started to walk along the ledge on the building's east corner. "Clark, I don't need to waste my time…"

"This is more than just the Arena, isn't it?" Batman stopped his advance to the building's corner and remained silent. The truth was that though there were indeed many things that needed to be done; those the police could handle on their own. Now that Superman took him away from the scene, he felt exposed. For the first time he did not feel in control, instead the Joker was dictating the moves in this endless game of cat and mouse. He was no longer the hunter, he was the hunted; and the hunter turns out to be a psychotic clown that knew exactly how to hurt him deeply. His strength dwindle as if his life force had been left behind down in the streets. _Not now_—he repeated in his mind over and over again—_I can't break down now…_

Too many have been hurt by this monster, too many and too close to him. There are still a lot of things that needed to be done before this case was over, but he felt so weak. Selina and Tim's attacks have left his soul in pieces and the leads made no sense and were hurting his detective pride. He explained everything to the Man of Steel who listened carefully.

The Dark Knight wondered what other things his body was telling the Man of Steel about his inner war. "You're scanning my vitals, aren't you, Clark?"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody about your cardiac click." Superman smiled softly. "You let the Joker get to you."

"You've dealt with him a few times. He even tried to kill you once before. Doesn't he get to you too after a while?"

"Why didn't you call us? We could've helped."

"The League has more important things to do than worrying about one single crazy lunatic on the loose, Clark."

"Bruce, the moment the Joker massacres people, or wires a building with explosives to kill a few thousand people at a time, it becomes important enough for the League. How long it's been since the Joker escaped from Arkham?"

"I don't see the relevance…" 

"Over five months…seven maybe? This is the longest it has taken you to catch him, correct?" Batman did not answer; he knew where this was leading to. "You are concerned he's still at large, feeling guilty that you have not been able to stop him; and it doesn't help that he knows where to hurt you. Yes, I know about his reminder of Robin's death too." Batman looked down to the crowd of police and firemen on the street. It was difficult to accept the truth, because this truth would make him weak. "You're angry, and you are considering drastic measures to deal with the clown."

"Don't psychoanalyze me." Batman growled.

"I'm not. I'm just deriving a conclusion like a good reporter does and then asking the right questions. You're right, I know him. He's your greatest foe and your worst enemy, but the way I see it now, he's starting to win the moment he can get under your skin."

"I was born human, can't help it." Batman said not realizing that the words cut Superman like sharp kryptonite knives. "Sorry…didn't mean it that way…"

"It's alright," the Man of Steel brushed away. "No offense taken. It's just…that you're better than the Joker…don't let him drive you down to his level."

"He's not. I have a mission: bring the clown back where he belongs…"

"Bruce…don't lie to me…you want to make the Joker pay for what he has done to you…you want the Clown dead…I can feel it in your voice."

Batman felt offended. He had never wanted to kill anybody, but it was that the Joker this time has gone further than other times. Attacking him intimately, hurting the people he loved, the ones that were close to him. He let that go away once before when the maniac killed Jason Todd, and now he was reliving that nightmare all over again.

He wanted to stop the Joker, needed to stop the psychopath, but who could blame him if he wanted to permanently put a stop at the bloodshed this murderous clown has spread ever since he escaped from the asylum? God knows that that was the only way the pain and the suffering this city has experimented at the Joker's hand will stop and maybe for the first time he will feel free of Jason's ghost that had pleaded him to avenge his death in his nightmares so many times before.

"He deserves any kind of punishment known to men, Clark. He could suffer every torture conceivable twice and it will not be enough to pay for all the pain and suffering that Clown has brought this city. What he has done…to countless people, to Barbara, to Jason…Tim, to the people at the Arena is inexcusable…and the list goes on. He is like a disease to which there is no cure, a pestilence that kills indiscriminately, a psychotic monster that…"

"You are the best detective I know, Bruce, and you should know that there is a thin line between justice and revenge. You should know better as to when to detach yourself from a case and look the situation objectively. I know you Bruce…I know Batman as well; and neither of you is a murderer. I don't want you to make a decision that you're going to regret later. You don't have to fight this enemy alone. The League would have made it easier by lending a hand…we still want to lend a hand."

"The things that monster has done…" Batman said shifting the grappler in his hands, "I don't think I will ever regret killing that psychotic murderer…" Batman raised an angry fist. "Don't tell me you don't believe with me that the Joker should die."

"I believe you're not a murderer…and I believe that the law determines the path to follow…"

"The law…always the boy scout eh, Clark? In the meantime, the law has kept this…animal in a psychiatric Asylum from which he can escape at will to continue his murderous rampage again and again. You think that's justice? Tell that to all the people that have suffered because of him…" Batman started to walk angrily towards the Man of Steel. "Tell that to all the people he has killed. Thousands. Their ghosts are screaming for justice."

"Screaming for justice or for murder?"

"Killing that monster would not be murder."

"If you really believe that…I am disappointed. Murder is murder even if you want to cover with a spirit of justice. Joker is out of his mind…doesn't excuse what he has done…but he can't behave any other way."

Clark remained silent for a moment. He pondered on the acts the Joker has been associated with over the years, and Bruce was right. The list of dead or maimed was endless. Children were left without parents and parents were left without their children. Innocent bodies have been permanently marked by the violence of the Clown Prince of Crime, and there seemed to be no end to the list of things, but was the Joker really evil, or just a severely disturbed man? As difficult as it might be, the line defining the Joker as evil or just sick was extremely blurred.

"So…you're telling me that Joker…is a victim?" Bruce said intensely looking at the Kryptonian.

"No. You talk about justice…The Joker has been certified as criminally insane. He's sick, his concept of reality distorted, warped. He's lived all his life in a circle of violence. That's probably all he knows…and you are going to respond to him by offering more violence…? He deserves to be treated, to be cured. He needs to understand that there is more than senseless violence in this life…he needs to see what he has done and…"

"Bullshit! Don't give me that crap, Clark. You think that because he's insane he's not responsible? He's evil, Clark…I can see it in his eyes every time he kills someone…he enjoys what he does. He knows the difference between good and bad but just opts to ignore it. He's been fooling us all with his insane act…I know he's just faking it."

"And what if he isn't? What if he is really not responsible for his actions…? Does he deserve to die just because his mind is sick? He should probably never be released again, even if he regains his sanity…but at least offer the man a chance…a chance to be cured." Batman remained silent. It really didn't matter what he thought or not there were facts and one of the facts was that every psychologist and psychiatrist that had ever analyzed the Joker's mind had agreed the man is hopelessly insane. They could all be wrong…misled by the impeccable acting of one of the most brilliant performers in history: The Clown Prince himself. It had to be. What could have turned a simple man into a monster like that unless there was a seed of evil already with in him?

"This city needs to be able to wake up knowing that they no longer need to fear that monster from escaping again."

"Bruce…" Superman said letting his arms down heavily. Trying to advocate for the devil was indeed a daunting task. "If you don't want to consider this for him…because he doesn't deserve it…I understand. Don't do it for him then…do it for you. You're not a murderer…and you will be allowing this Clown to dictate your actions. Wouldn't it be repulsive to think that you killed Joker because he made you…are you going to grant that psychopath that much power?" Batman remained motionless on the ledge, peering silently over the multitude of cops and firemen. "This city needs you to be there for them, Bruce, but sometimes this very same city forgets we are human as well and still expect us to do amazing things. They expect you to protect them and you can't protect them if you are not able to see beyond the anger and beyond the evil and beyond the personal loss to do what its right and you can't definitely protect this city when a demented murderer forces you to go down to his level and do what you promised your parents you will never do. It's not easy to know what is right, Bruce, but if you need help, the League will be there for you."

"I can handle it."

"I know you can, my friend. That was never a point of debate. This is your city, and here you practice your own justice, but I just wanted to remind you that that there is a thin line between justice and murder; so thin that you could cross the line without realizing it…and you don't want to cross that line. It's not in your nature. You're a Justice Leaguer, Bruce, and I trust you because you've always known what's right and you are not alone… I just felt you needed to be reminded that we will be there for you…anytime you need us…to do the right thing."

"Believe me, I know," said Bruce walking to the ledge and firing his bat-grappler to the nearest building. There he stopped mutely for a moment, just looking at the turmoil down in the streets. Silence between friends like this spoke volumes. "Clark… thanks."

"Anytime, friend."

The Batman swung down into the multitude of cops and ambulances. He knew there was not much to be said. This was a friendship that had evolved to the point in which words were not needed to express emotions. Batman knew that he could count on Superman and the League to lend a hand whenever needed and Clark knew that Batman was strong enough to withstand the worst storm.

He knew he had to deliver Joker back to the asylum, but he couldn't help think that for the Clown the psychiatric hospital was as helpful as a book was to the blind. If Joker was hopelessly insane as the doctors at the Asylum seem to concur…why even bother. Why not terminate the threat of the monster escaping his cage again to restart another reign of terror? That would be the humane thing to do for an animal who suffered a terminal disease, but what about a man who could only produce effects comparable to the worst cancer… and could not be cured? What was the right thing to do? He knew the answer…but will he be able to do what was right?

The League will be there to help him do the right thing, that was Superman's promise. He only needed to be reminded occasionally that he was not alone. Sometimes he thought that he was the only one fighting this battle against evil. It felt good to know your friends are there…Bruce had just spent too much time on his own…too much time by himself. Now the time was for action, and Bruce needed to know if his close ones were hurt, because he was not going to let Joker hurt anyone anymore. That's a promise he made the moment he dealt with him for the first time and that he had repeated ever since. Batman saw Nightwing by an ambulance.

"Good to see you finally made it."

"You must be kidding, right? Traffic was backed up for miles and unfortunately I don't wear a cape or drive a black supercar," said Nightwing showing a small smile and motioning to the woman in resting in the stretcher inside the ambulance "Ms. Gordon was telling me of her ordeal."

"They said they couldn't find any explosives in the building, is that true?" Barbara asked.

"So far, yes. The League did a preliminary survey but they said the building is clean of explosives. The bomb squad will confirm the findings, but I believe they are only going to validate what the League stated. I'm relieved to see you are doing fine, Ms. Gordon," said Batman trying to sound casual. He knew Barbara very well and new her alter ego even better. Oracle had become a very important part of his fight against crime in this city, but that was information he did not need to share with anybody else, especially the rest of the police department and definitely not close to Gordon. "I'm sure your father will also be relieved. He was very worried."

"Thanks, but I'm concerned about my dad too. I haven't seen him yet and he's not answering his cell phone either." Barbara said looking at both masked vigilantes. "I know him; he would have called me or the officers down here if he was running late, especially for an emergency like this. Something must have happened."

The Dark Knight shook his head. "He should have left the office about twenty minutes after me. Even with traffic, Gordon should already be here. That's unusual." Batman said looking at Barbara Gordon. "Stay still and rest Ms. Gordon, we'll find out about your father."

Batman and Nightwing walked over to Officer Renee Montoya.

"Montoya, we need to speak with the Commissioner, have you seen him?"

"Negative. I tried to reach him in his cell phone without success and no one has seen him since he left the station and that was close to an hour ago. I've coordinated the operation in his place, but we could use his expertise as of right now." answered the young detective reaching for her beeping cell phone.

"Now, that's odd. You think he went somewhere else first?" said Nightwing with obvious concern in his eyes.

"Barbara is right, he would have called. I don't like the looks of this." said Batman trying to look around as if expecting the Commissioner to appear in front of him.

"Batman," said Montoya with a puzzled look in her face. "This call is for you… It's Gordon…and he sounded in distress."

"Batman here, Commissioner." said the Dark Knight taking the phone.

"Hello, Batsy old pal. No fireworks tonight? Bummer! I really tried… Maybe I can blow up something else for you tomorrow…a school, a hospital…maybe a nunnery." That voice. He could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Joker." The Batman said making the name sound almost like a growl. "What did you do to Commissioner Gordon?"

"Nothing… yet. However, tell me, how you've been doing? Long time no see. Has Blunder Boy grown hair on his chest yet? Oops, shouldn't have said that...I'm so mean sometimes…" Joker giggled softly on the phone.

"I'm not here to play games, Joker." Batman signaled the officers to track the call over the cell phone. "What do you want?"

"What everybody wants… world chaos, a president with an IQ above 50, a trip to Hawaii with all expenses paid..."

"JOKER...!" Batman roared on the phone.

"Ok, ok. It seems like you're not in the mood for a joke tonight, Jeez! Nobody likes to joke anymore these days, not even me." The Clown Prince let out a deep sigh. "First, detective, don't try to trace this call because I've gone to great extents to make it well… untraceable. Second, I want to offer this city a bargain."

"Bargain what?"

"Gordy in exchange for a few friends of mine…easy enough."

"How do I know that Gordon is still alive?"

"Did you ask beautiful officer Montoya who she just spoke to?" Joker giggled. "The brave Commissioner is alive and kicking, trust me. Have you received my package?"

"What package are you talking about, Joker?"

"Damn couriers. You pay them a small fortune for a prompt delivery in a crazy night like this and they just run away with your money. Remind me to change delivery service." The Clown Prince laughed softly over the phone.

"Joker, stop playing around. This is not funny."

"I'm not funny Bats?" said the Joker sounding almost hurt. "Well, have to admit, I've not been funny lately…my bad. By the way, did you receive the first one I sent you, you know, my Christmas gift?" Batman did not answered, his grip on the cell phone tightened. A little tighter and he'll break the phone. "Of course you did, you liked it? It was hard to find the right size clothes."

Another long silence, but the Clown continued. "Well, I think you did like it because it left you speechless. Problem is I'm not in the mood to talk to walls so I'm gonna hang up the phone now and do Gordy here a favor here by getting him a ticket in the bullet train…where you want the bullet, Gordon…in the head or in the heart?"

"Joker, the present you sent…" Batman needed to keep the Joker talking. If the Clown was talking, maybe he was less likely to pull the trigger.

"Yes?" The Clown said tenderly, his voice in a falsetto.

"It meant… a lot… to me." Batman had to spit each word.

"Now, it wasn't that hard, was it?" Joker giggled. "I know it meant a lot to you, it was supposed to, but the remake lacked the impact of the original…I never believed in sequels myself, you know? Have to kill me a courier, talk to you later, Bats. Bye."

"Joker. Wait." Click. Nothing. The phone went dead. What kind of jokes was this clown playing? The Joker had Gordon, and the Clown had indirectly confessed to Robin's attack in his own sick way, and from the Leopards, he had enough evidence to link the Joker to the Museum. Joker was having the upper hand in this round. "Officer Montoya, please tell me you were able to get a fix on the phone signal."

The young detective walked over from over a nearby patrol car and after a quick exchange of words with the officer within the car returned to Batman. "Unfortunately not something we can use. The signal was out of state, and the company pinpoints the phone in Romania."

Batman knew that was impossible. Garibaldi did a very good job setting the security around Joker. Now what? The only thing he could do was to wait for the Joker to make the next move, and he hated to be the Clown Prince's pawn. Now he needed to explain the situation to Barbara.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

It was very early in the morning when the Dark Knight arrived to the Presbiterian Hospital. The night before had been extremely agitated after the Joker's bomb threat to the Davenport Arena, but now all that was left at the site was the cleanup crew and the Forensic personnel going though the building in search of leads.

Not a single explosion occurred in the building as the clown had threatened to do, but nonetheless, there were a lot of people dead or unaccounted for and Batman doubted that the forensic investigators would find anything to explain how Joker got access to the building…though he had a suspicion that it involved certain hacker...

Joker had been very good at fooling the investigators so far…including him… and the new turn of Commissioner Gordon in the Clown's clutches was proof that Joker was playing by a different set of rules this time. The Clown's MO had become extremely organized. He seemed to have not overlooked a single detail and the presence of Garibaldi as possible orchestrator of this chaos was becoming a royal headache. The hacker was a master of sneaking through a network undetected not once but many times over and a man with enough resources to cripple a city like the hacker had done, made him climb to the ten most dangerous men in Gotham, right along with his boss.

The Dark Knight should have gone back to the cave to go over the evidence Nightwing gathered from Garibaldi, and get as much sleep as he could get, before meeting with the police in the Major's office later that morning. However, he knew he would not be able to sleep. In his mind ran the desolate images of the night before, the thought of Gordon under the Clown's grasp, his conversation with Clark and above all, he thought of Selina.

The investigation had become so self absorbing that he had not had a chance to see her ever since she was attacked at the museum, and his heart couldn't take it anymore, especially after Neo had spilled the information he had on the museum robbery. . Oracle had been able to see Selina twice since she was admitted at the hospital and reported her condition had not improved since the attack; that had been so brutal that had left her in comma since. That would be over two weeks and no matter how much Barbara reassured him her condition was stable and persistent, he had to see her. The hacker was not physically there but had heard the accounts first hand and it had been a very disturbing tale.

He produced a strong impression on the hospital personnel as they saw him walking down the hall of the eighth floor. He had sneaked into the building, trying to avoid the inquisitive eyes of the public in the lobby if he would have used the regular door. At the end of the hall, two armed officers watched over the door to Selina's room. When they saw him, both officers stood up in attention and saluted. He silently nodded. No explanation was needed, since he had arranged with Harvey Bullock to have this visit…the guards knew they were to expect him. Without hesitation, one of the guards opened the door to the room and offered him in. Inside, a female guard sat beside the bed where Selina was lying unmoving, wrapped in bandages that covered her face and arms, hooked to a respirator and an intravenous line. The sight made him shudder.

The female officer rose from the chair and walked past him out of the room. He approached the bed slowly; feeling like this was an unreal experience. He would want nothing more than to this be one of those nightmares that would dissolve once he opened his eyes in the morning. Not this time. He extended a black gloved hand and touched the rail of the bed, leaning over Catwoman.

"Selina…" Batman whispered as he stroke her exposed swollen cheek with the other hand. The Dark Knight felt a lump on his throat. He had experienced violence before, seen it with his own eyes countless times and though he thought he was strong, but the sight of her in this bed, in this condition, make him weak at the knees. "What did he do to you…"

The reports from the police have been sketchy, but he could make a clear picture of what had happened in the museum by adding Neo's tale. Selina had gone to the museum, probably attracted by the gems that were going to be auctioned in a few days. She had always been greedy, and it would have been quite a proud accomplishment to fool the museum's security system and steal the gems. Joker encountered her there, unexpectedly, probably trying to get the gems himself and subdued her after an explosion had rendered her unconscious, at least that's what Neo had heard from one of the gang members who witnessed it all. The Clown had her tied to the totem in the Native American exhibit and started to beat her brutally. Not happy with that, he started to slice the skin on her arms, legs and face until she had lost consciousness. They untie her and in the floor the lunatic opted to sign his handiwork by carving Selina's back with his trademark guffaw. He could only imagine what it must have felt like.

Batman held to the rail tightly and rushed a hand to his face. He felt tears starting to run from under the cowl, tears not of sorrow, but of anger. How could someone do something like this? What kind of monster would rejoice in doing this to a fellow human being? Only an animal…only the Joker. He felt his strength dwindle and he had to hold to the rail with both hands. He couldn't take it anymore. The Joker had gone too far…he needed to be stopped…at any cost.

"Selina…sorry I was not there for you…sorry I couldn't save you from the clutches of that psychopath." Batman swallowed hard. "I should have been there…I can't stand knowing this happened to you and I couldn't do anything to prevent it…" The Dark Knight straightened and the cape fell down his shoulders enveloping him completely. He looked like a tall mountain of darkness looking sadly at the figure on the bed. His lips quivered, he wanted to cry. "I promise you I will make that sadistic monster pay for this and every single death and suffering he had caused…he will feel the pain in my rage. He will beg for mercy, there will be none."

The female officer entered back into the room. Batman looked at her; his eyes glinting with tears. The officer said tried to say something, but her lips moved without words being uttered. There were no words to offer to someone suffering this much. The Knight walked quickly towards the door and exited silently. There was a meeting he had to attend.


	30. Me, Myself and the Commissioner

**Author's Note: **_Thanks to all the friends that have supported this story...you guys know your names...and there is a big thank-you-from-the-bottom-of-my-heart waiting for you. One of those friends, has always been full of kind words... encouraging comments, constructive criticism. There are no words to express my gratitude to that friend...the only thing I could think of was to dedicate this chapter just for that friend...hope this Joker is still as 'orgasmic'as you want it, J ...thank you for been so kind...thank you for your words of encouragement...and thank you for helping me with the craft. You are a master in your craft too. _

Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS

Disclaimer 2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS...reader discretion is adviced.

Now friends...enjoy this chapter

**CHAPTER 30: ME, MYSELF, AND THE COMMISSIONER**

"You must have half the Force's phone numbers in here, Gordon. Very handy. You even have the Major's office number…Impressive." Joker said checking the list of contacts stored in the Commissioner's phone's directory. Commissioner Gordon sat in front of him with arms and feet tightly bound to a chair, and a large purple bow on top of his head, a sweet touch from the deliveryman. Sergio had a great sense of humor, especially after having cashed fifty grand for the delivery of the old Commissioner, and the Clown was starting to get a liking of the Colombian Boss. Two of Joker's thugs where guarding the door while a third one stood by the Commissioner... "I might need a copy of this to update my records."

"What you want, clown?"

"You heard what I said, I want to bargain. You in exchange of my crew." Joker smiled tenderly. "Wasn't I clear enough?"

"The police department will not bargain with psychos like you."

"The police department will do everything I want them to do. You are too valuable to leave behind, a hero to the force, the finest of Gotham's finest." Joker made a raspberry. "They'll do whatever they can to get you back…even deal with me."

"Like you're going to let me go."

"Actually, if your friends behave, I might. I'm feeling generous lately…unusually generous." Gordon shook his head and the Joker walked slowly closer to him. The Clown tried to force a sad face without much success. "Oh, come on Commissioner, you don't believe me? When have I lied to you?"

"Do you need to ask? Look what you did… destroyed the Arena...killing innocent people..."

"Hey, you can't blame that one on me." Joker raised a menacing index finger. "The Arena didn't explode."

"What?...It didn't?" Gordon asked not able to hide his incredulity.

"It didn't."

"But you said it was rigged with…?"

"Explosives..? I know what I said and it was all a joke; a humongous practical joke." The Clown said standing very still in front of the Commissioner and shaking his head gently. "You don't have any idea what a practical joke is, do you? That's the reason you and I don't get along, you don't have a sense of humor. Just like your Bat. Why would we want to blow up all those kids? Just because they play that strident, loud noise they call music and annoy the hell out of me?" Joker shook his right finger. "No, sir. That would be insane."

"You're insane, Joker."

The Clown Prince knelt in front of the Commissioner and removed the glasses from Gordon's face and wiped them using his own green tie. He replaced the glasses carefully on the Commissioner's nose while sporting a large smile. "News flash, Gordon: NOT ANYMORE. However, don't get use to it, because I plan on going back to be my jolly old lunatic self once all this is done. Do you see me now?"

"You are not insane…" Gordon answered incredulously.

"Gotta believe it." Joker giggled joyfully. "And all the suffering it cost me to get sane again. I still don't know why sanity is so glorified. It's full of pain, and sorrow, and hatred, and..."

"Is that all you see in it?"

Joker lifted a menacing hand. "Spare me the lecture, Gordon. I had a life once and if I cancel all the good things with the bad things that have ever happened to me…I still end up with a negative balance. My life was not that difference from John Doe next door and I can tell you that…LIFE SUCKS!!! I need to leave all that behind and just let go again, you know, and do what I've always done…perform just like you want me to...isn't that what you expect of me...to behave...like the Joker I am?"

"What's your plan?"

"Ah, ah, ah. No peeking. Do you know what happened to the curious 'puddy cat' who wanted to know about my plan? I killed the curious 'puddy cat.'" Joker smiled maliciously with a small sparkle of complacence in his eyes.

"Then why are you telling me this." Gordon said blowing a way one of the ribbon's curly extensions that had fallen in front of his face.

"Because you called me insane and we're not. It's not fair. It's insulting if you ask me…calling people crazy…Now the Batman, on the other hand, is the classic example of a man who has totally lost his sanity and has an animal fetish with bats…" Joker was still kneeling in front of Gordon when he had a chill. "Disgusting…He's the one that should be institutionalized. Not me. I just wanna have fun, that's all. I'm really a misunderstood clown."

"A clown who murders people. Listen to you, saying you are sane, when you're making the least amount of sense. Now how you explain that?"

The Clown Prince shrugged. "Have it as you want, Commissioner. There's nothing I can say that will convince you that the crazy clown you and the Bat have learned to hate is not here now. Only me, the real me, in here, right now." US, THE REAL US, TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW. DON"T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME. Joker closed his eyes and sighed. "And what you call murder…I call art. But I don't think you can grasp the concept. You are not too sane either…befriending a Bat…? Come on, Gordon. Did you know bats transmit the rabies and guano inhalation could kill you?"

"You don't say..." Gordon answered with a subtle smile.

"Cute, Commissioner, but mocking me is not going to bring you anything but pain, which reminds me… since my sanity returned, I have been remembering a lot of painful events and though most of them involve either my family or the Bat…you have caused me a good share or pain as well if I recall correctly." Joker rose and backed a few steps.

"Really?" Gordon replied mockingly.

"Yes, for instance, there's this one incident that comes to mind... After the big earthquake, I had already surrendered and you pointed your gun at me, called me crazy, you said I should die, blah, blah, blah?" The Joker cocked his head slightly. "Coming back to you now?"

The commissioner remained silent, this conversation with the Joker was pointless but it brought painful memories for him as well. He remembered that day, the day he had to choose the law above revenge...What was the Clown trying to do…hurt him like he did to the Batman with the Robin clothes? Maybe this was just a game the Joker was playing to satisfy his sadistic personality. Either way, these were memories of things he had hoped to have dealt with a long time ago…old wounds that the psychopath had opened again and those wounds have started to bleed once more.

"You endangered the life of children… you'd just killed my wife."

"That's true, but not the point I'm trying to get through." Joker responded waiving his hand disdainfully. "Let's try to focus here…we are talking about me. I had surrendered already…was unarmed, and very tired; still, you wanted to kill me but your sense of duty, and the Bat, made you hesitate and instead of finishing me off, you blew up my leg." Joker grimaced. "You know how painful that was?"

Gordon frowned at Joker's disregard of human life. "It was just a little taste of the pain that you've inflicted in this city. I should've blown your head off."

"So you don't feel any remorse for what you did?" Joker said with his eyes demonstrating genuine sadness.

"As much remorse as you probably felt after what you did."

Joker scratched the back of his neck. "Actually… I've been feeling remorseful lately; part of this so called sanity, I think, but I might not be here long enough to regret anything, I'm planning permanent retirement soon." The Clown giggled. "The physical pain though… that lasted for a while. Knee surgery…braces, months of pain…rehab," Joker winced, "The city took good care of me, no complaints there, but I still can't forget the pain. Why do you think is that?"

"You reap what you sow, Clown."

Joker eyes narrowed, and he sighed deeply; his smiling white face was dark and somber. He took a few deep breaths and finally let out an angry snort. His voice became grave and dull. The Clown nodded approvingly.

"True. Violence begets violence…history of my life. Truer than that and it will be in the Gospels." Joker drew his gun and shot the Commissioner's right knee. Gordon howled in pain. "Just a taste of what it felt like Commissioner so you have an idea of my pain and before we forget… thank you for reminding me who I am. The Grinning Reaper. Now, enjoy the pain, courtesy of the Clown and me."

Gordon tried to get a posture in the chair that would alleviate the pain, but any position would just produce an enormous amount of pain. His leg was in fire from the thigh down and he hardly felt the tip of his toes. There was not much space to think of anything else but the pain, but the thought of Barbara came to his mind. Would he be able to see her one more time? How could she handle life if he was gone, at the hands of this maniac? Tears started to flow down heavily, not induced by the pain of his body but by the pain in his soul. Joker put his gun away and walked towards the door. He murmured some instructions to the two strong men, who left the room.

The Clown Prince snorted, fixed his gray jacket, his green tie, and started to walk out of the room when he stopped at the door. He grabbed the doorframe with his hands and Gordon could hear him giggling childishly. The giggling continued in crescendo, he looked around the outside hall and walked back into the room, closing and locking the door behind him. The giggling had turned into soft chortles, and Joker turned around starting to flounce towards the Commissioner stopping short of a few paces from him. His green eyes never left the man who had turned pale and had tears running down his cheeks. Joker leaned over slightly and took a closer look at the Commissioner's wounded leg that was bleeding profusely with blood that had started to drip down his leg and pool on his shoe and the floor. The Clown Prince clapped joyfully, and then stared at Gordon's eyes intensely. His mouth extended into that smile that was so characteristic of the psychotic Jester.

"Wow…That's quite a number Jack did on your leg, Commish," Joker finally said, while studying the wound again from very close. With his gloved hand, he touched the edges, and Gordon moaned in pain. "Looks painful… does it hurt?" Joker giggled and Gordon stared at the Clown with obvious hatred.

"What…are you…doing?" Gordon spattered through grinded teeth.

"But why, I'm just admiring the work of art of a genius. Jack really knows how to use that .38 if you ask me."

"You…did…this."

Joker touched the edge of the open wound again, but harder. Gordon screamed. Joker straightened and folded his arms over his chest. "Not exactly, Gordy. Hm, I'm no doctor, but if you don't take care of that it would probably get infected and you would lose that leg…Yep, the boy is really good." The Clown prince started to laugh softly.

"Joker…stop playing…stupid…games." Gordon spat each word with great effort trying to overcome the terrible pain.

"Oh, but I'm playing no games…yet. Jack's quite the killjoy, you know. Doesn't let me go out to play much. Thinks I'm crazy." Joker clasped his hands behind him, rocked his body slightly from side to side and tried to put a sad face but there was only that sardonic smile.

"Jack?"

"Yeah, you know the guy you were just talking to…tall, handsome, with the clown face and the beautiful smile…don't tell me you forgot already?" Joker pointed to himself and looked at the Commissioner, as serious as possible, then bent over with his hands on his thighs. "Are you senile?"

"I was…talking to you…" Gordon's eyes narrowed as he focused on the grinning figure in front of him.

"Not quite, but close… I was in the background listening to every single word. Jack is the one with the short fuse, the .38 special and the _'muy macho'_ attitude. Don't fuck with him or he'll blow your head off." Joker giggled. "Me? I have more finesse, more style. You could say I'm more refined in my tastes. I like tea and biscuits laced with strychnine, a good stroll in the park full of very happy dead children after they laugh themselves to death, and let's not forget the flower that squirts hydrochloric acid on your face. That one is a classic...along with the joybuzzer that can burn you to a crisp. Everything that makes you laugh, Gordy. I like joking around and seeing people die, well, you know my saying…Life's a stage…and everybody dies in the next act." Joker busted in laughter and wiped his eyes from joyful tears. "I kill myself sometimes…"

"You're the Joker…"The Clown Prince kicked Gordon on the injured leg and giggled. "Arrgh!!"

"In a way we are, in a way we aren't, Gordy. He is the type of guy that lets everything get to him; doesn't enjoy life as I do. He revels in the past like its dear to him or something, and forgets to smile…" Joker signaled to his ruby lips now curled up in a wide smile, "…though I'm always there to remind him, after all, I'm the one with the sense of humor. He had a rough childhood, Gordy, and if it wasn't for me…I don't think he would have made it. Troubled child, anger management issues and when he's in the mood, he will kill you while his heart rate hardly goes above sixty-five. Inherited that from his daddy, I think, but please don't tell him that I said it. He has a talent to do my bidding, but he is otherwise just a big square." Joker drew a large square in the air with his hands. "Don't take me wrong, Gordy…I like the kid, lived with him for almost forty years, but let's face it, I'm the main attraction, the funny man… and everybody loves me…" Joker smiled widely and pinched the Commissioner's cheek. "Even you love good ol' me, don't you? Don't deny it you handsome little pig..."

"You are insane." Gordon said pulling away disgustingly.

"Yes, I know, I know. I remember the long sessions at Arkham with my first psychiatrist…He wrote PSYCHOTIC in bold red letters all over my file…I protested, but doctors can be stubborn and he left me no option." The Clown's smile widened. "…so I wrote LOOSER in bright red letters all over the walls of the room with his blood." Joker laughed. "It was a lot of fun, never thought I could make such a mess… I must've flunked finger painting in kindergarten." Joker let out a loud cackle. "But that was then…right now I'm very hungry. You know when was the last time I ate someone's heart…? …figuratively that is…I really like fish."

"What are … you talking about?"

"My friend Jack has been in the forefront all this time, while I sat in the background and just watched. No fair, but someone needs to do the dirty work, I think. I just got tired of standing still like an idiot and decided to pay you a visit. After all, you are my favorite police officer…" The Clown Prince bent over the chair and rested his hands over the armrests. Gordon just stared at the Joker silently and the Clown giggled maliciously. "And I really want to see you dead."

"Bring…it…on, Clown." Gordon said with a hateful frown.

Joker shook an index finger in front of him. "No, gotta show my friend that I also have self control. He wants to let you live for now… let's do what he says, but when I get fed up…beware Gordy…because I'm going after you with a vengeance. Jack just wants Batsy dead, wants revenge for what the Bat did to him, but I want everything that the Bat has ever touched completely destroyed... obliterated while he watches, and that includes you and your family…"Joker removed the purple bow from the Commissioner's head and started to play with it in his hand smiling joyfully. His voice increased a few octaves. "…including your little girl. The Bat is just a black blotch in my coloring book and Jack just wants to remove the page with the blotch. Me? I'm inspired…I will dispose of the blotch, after I've tossed the entire book into the fire and see it burn to ashes. It's a lot more fun that way."

"You're…you're not making any sense."

"When are you going to learn…I'm the Joker, Gordy, I have never made sense…" Joker just stared at Gordon, with a childish look that was at the same time glinted with a hint of hatred. For the first time, Gordon was afraid. This Clown was not trying to be funny, he was trying to be mean and deadly…and the Commissioner wondered how far the Joker was willing to go to inflict pain. " …and I don't know who thought of delivering you with a purple bow… when everybody knows blue is your color…."

Laughter… Gordon got surprised to hear a burst of laughter coming from the Joker, but the Clown was not laughing at all. The Prince rolled his eyes and searched on the outer pocket of his jacket pulling a purple cell phone. He looked at the ID caller and let out a sough. "You arrived at the finish line, Princess? Good. Just give me a moment…" Joker turned to the Commissioner. "Time to go, Gordy. I need to set some things for the party, but we will be back very soon. Batman would love to see you again…still breathing." The Clown fixed his jacket again and straightened the knot on his tie. He looked at the Commissioner for a quick moment and sneered. "What are you looking at Gordon? Never seen anyone as crazy as me? Well…that makes two of us." Joker stuck his tongue out mockingly, turned around and walked to the door that he tried to open without success. "Damn! Who was the clown who locked this fucking door?" The Clown Prince exploded in laughter while resting his hands against the door, "I guess that would be me, Jack."

The Clown Prince rested his head againt the door. "...I think...I think, Im losing my mind. I can't loose my mind now..not yet." He unlocked the door and saw Milton standing waiting by the door. The Joker whispered something to the man's ears and exited the room while Milton got in and after grabbing a chair from the corner, sat by the door, looking directly at the Commissioner. In the meantime, the pain had returned with a vengeance. The Joker's manipulations made the pain a continuous torture that he couldn't shake off. Gordon just looked down and closed his eyes trying to think of something else.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"How could he have gained access to Gordon?" asked Montoya while reclining against the wall in the Commissioner's office. "Unless he went to headquarters himself…"

"Yesterday had been a chaotic night, communication within the Force was poor, anybody could have sneaked into the building," answered Batman who had started to pace the office.

"But my dad wouldn't just go with anybody." Barbara wheeled her chair away from the window.

"The kidnappers must've pretended to be something familiar to Gordon. Cops, Firemen." Nightwing said joining Barbara's chair. "He must've really believed he was dealing with the real thing for him to go with them. They had to be professionals."

"He should've driven with me," interjected Bullock, "but he had called saying he was running behind. Getting everything organized, so he told me to go ahead and then wait for him at the Arena…I shouldn't have left." He folded his arms over his chest in distraught, obviously feeling guilty for the whole thing. Officer Montoya put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Did the Joker say what he wanted?" asked Nightwing.

"He said he wanted to exchange the Commissioner."

"He wants to release inmates from Arkham?" asked Barbara.

"I don't think so. I'm going to make an educated guess and say he wants us to release the Leopards."

"Joker has never taken hostages for exchanging…unless he wants to kill them."

"True, Nightwing, which makes this whole situation highly unusual. Not only that, his voice over the phone was so… calmed. No loud outbursts of laughter. His jokes were…moderate, restrained. He even admitted he was not in the mood to joke and when he spoke, he just wanted to be was mean and cruel… saying the right things that might hurt me. He wanted to hurt, not joke around. Highly unusual."

"This came via courier just a moment ago." An officer appeared at the office door carrying a small package wrapped in brown paper with some spattered red stains that look like blood. The officer handed Batman the package, which was indeed small, fitting his hand comfortably. The label on the package was addressed to him, and the sender's name was a large letter J on the left hand corner.

"The Joker's package…?" Nightwing said coming closer the Dark Detective who was examining the delivery very carefully. "I expected something…I don't know…larger, with a large purple bow on it. This is odd."

"With Joker, small size doesn't mean it's any less dangerous."

"Get the bomb squad here, now," said Bullock as his cell phone rang. "Bullock here… how you dare call…" The detective handed the phone roughly to the Batman.

"Joker."

"How did you know it was me? Are you turning clairvoyant on me now, Bats?"

"Not difficult to guess, detective Bullock's reaction gave me a hint. Are you ready to bargain now?"

"Did you finally receive the package I sent you?

"I have it in my hand."

"You opened it?"

"Just got it…what is it Joker?"

"What are you waiting for, open it. Oh, and sorry for the blood. I'm usually not that messy but the previous courier didn't want to let go. I had him talk to my .38 and he finally saw my point."

Batman cringed. When was the Joker's long list of victims ever ending? "Is it going to explode?"

"What makes you think that? Hope I'm not creating a reputation… No, no, no, just open it. Trust me on this one."

The Dark Knight set the phone aside on the table and ripped the wrapping from the package revealing a small LCD screen about five inches wide. He looked around the screen and found the power switch, which he turned on. The screen flicked to life and the white grinning face of the Joker appeared in vivid color. The image waved at him with a black glove.

"What now?" Batman asked staring at the grinning figure on the small screen.

"You can return the phone to Lieutenant Bullshit behind you because this is Jokervision, and it's even better than regular television, because you don't get that any commercial interruptions…" Joker cackled. "Now we can see eye to eye as we talk…better than talking to thin air with those other phones." Batman turned the phone back to Bullock. "Why the long face, Bats? You look tired and old, chum. Having rough nights lately? Cats meowing in pain all night long are not letting you get your beauty sleep or something?"

Batman growled. "You're sick, and you and I have a score to settle."

"Ooooh, I'm so scared…see how I shudder." The Joker faked a terror look in his face, even forced a chill, "Spare me the macho attitude my dear rodent. I'm not impressed by your threats…mine are deadlier."Joker made a very loud raspberry.

The Dark Detective growled under his breath. "What are the terms of your bargain, Joker?" Batman held to the unit tightly. He wished he could smash it against something.

"I thought you've gotten that already. Commissioner James Gordon's life for the immediate release of the Leopard crew you have in custody and since you wanted to make sure good ol' Gordy was still amongst the living… ta, daaa." Joker moved aside and the screen focused in the Commissioner tied up to a chair in the background. One of the thugs lifted the man's face by the hair to look at the camera. Batman could see that Gordon was in obvious pain and had a bleeding wound on his right leg. Batman heard Barbara gasp.

"What did you do to him, Joker?"

"Nothing, just a short trip through memory lane and we ended in Painville. Have you been to Painville lately, Batsy? It's where you go when your family dies, or your lovers…or your sidekicks." Joker giggled softly and patted the Commissioner on the head. "Anyways, don't worry for Gordon, it's just a flesh wound…he'll live."

Joker knew how to push Batman's buttons. The Caped Detective was losing his temper again. "Why the sudden interest in the Leopards?"

"Curious type, aren't we?" Joker returned to the center of the screen. "Let's just say that I have a soft spot in my heart for the boys… they are so talented… just like me."

"Grand Snow Leopard."

"Excuse me?" Joker raised an eyebrow.

"You just confirmed it for me. Snow leopards have lighter coats than regular leopards…the same with you and your bleached complexion. You're their local boss."

Joker applauded. "See, that's why you're my hero, but if you just found that out… well I'm kind of disappointed because I thought I gave you that hint ages ago, but then you have not been getting my hints lately. Anyways, I'm doing what a good boss will do and I'm getting my boys back. You have twenty-four hours to comply or Gordy is gonna go bye-bye and believe me, Batsy, I will move up the food chain."

"You understand the city doesn't want to negotiate with you." Batman could feel Barbara tensing behind him.

"That's what Gordon said, but maybe the city needs a little persuasion. Let the daughter talk some sense into them. Wasn't she a victim of crime too? They will know I mean business." Joker smiled.

"You… monster!" Barbara interjected loudly.

"Wow, Bats, you even have the 'rolling librarian' there in the audience. Hi sweetie, say hello to daddy… you have not forgotten about Uncle Joker, have you?" The Clown Prince started to laugh gleefully and wave to the screen. "Come on, Gordon say something to your precious daughter, or you might break her back…ehem… I mean, break her heart. I really don't know where that came from…I broke her back." The Joker exploded in laughter.

"Stop it Joker," said Batman sternly. Joker stuck his tongue out mockingly. "Nobody wants to listen to your sick remarks."

"Alright, killjoy. Let…the games…begin. Twenty-four hours starting…" The Clown looked at his watch and tapped the sphere. "…now. If you convince the city to deal with me, I'll contact you with my delivery terms. Until then…I'll be watching the news very closely. Toodles." The screen went to static, and then shut down. Batman turned around and saw Barbara crying. His heart stopped for a second and that feeling of impotence, felt like a large hole in his soul.

"Gentlemen, we need to get organized quickly," said Bullock urging everybody to move fast. "Get the major's office on the phone, we have to get going. Gordon is counting on us." Batman walked over to Barbara and knelt in front of her.

"Ms. Gordon, I'll do everything I can to bring your father back safe and sound. You know that, don't you?"

Barbara nodded between sobs. "Why is he obsessed in hurting us again and again?"

"I don't have an answer for that now, but I'll make sure Joker responds for each one of his crimes, Ms. Gordon." Batman rose and approached Bullock. "Lieutenant, I'll need to borrow the LCD screen. Try to get the governor involved too and call me with any new development."

Bullock nodded and left the office and Renee Montoya followed. Only Barbara, Dinah, Nightwing and Batman were left in the room. Nightwing walked over to the Dark detective and put a hand over his shoulder.

"I'm ready, what's the next step?"

"We are going to get ready to track this signal and pinpoint a location for the transmission. Joker is getting extra precautions to avoid me directly at all costs. He's been careful, too careful." Batman looked over to the Commissioner's daughter. "You need to get away from all this, Barbara, until we get Gordon back."

"No, it's my entire fault. If I hadn't left for the concert…" 

"We probably wouldn't have known of it in time to save all those people. You and Dinah did a great job, and you are extremely brave but I want you out."

"Batman…" Dick moved closer to the Caped Detective in his voice the same intensity he had expressed when the Knight had asked him to leave the case. The young hero understood that Batman needed to concentrate in the task at hand, and to do so it might be better to shun everything the clown could use to hurt him. That would allow the Knight to protect those he loved most, but Nightwing also knew that this case had expanded beyond proportions and was now a task for more than one person...any less and they could be risking letting the Joker continue in his murderous spree. If only he could make Bruce understand…

"This has being too much on her, Nightwing and until we know what the Clown is up to, we should assume her a target on the madman's list. She needs to stay away from harm while we concentrate on getting Gordon back..."

"No." Barbara said looking keenly at the two men. Her eyes glowed with despair, but also with an inner fury that needed release. She hated to be told what to do…especially to be told to stay aside away from harm's way while she knew she could do something about it. That had been the way with her father, and the only thing that it ended up producing was a strong determination to defy the risks and stand behind what was right and do what was right. That was Barbara's creed, and the day she honed the Batgirl suit she made a promise that she would be there when she would be needed most. Dick knew that determination too, and he saw it in her eyes. Those same eyes he had fallen in love with. _That's the spirit, girl_. Dick thought, not able to avoid a complacent smile.

"Barbara, please." Batman pleaded.

"No. If I leave…Joker wins. He took Robin, now my father; he almost took me too. Don't you see what he's trying to do? He's trying to divide us." Batman looked intensely at Barbara detecting powerful determination to stand her ground like she has always done. She had made her mind and he was not going to convince her that it was better to step back and let others risk her life, that didn't agree with her personality, and above all, he knew she was right. Joker systematically has been attacking anything that had a connection with the Caped Crusader, as if he knew that if he did kill them, Batman will shun away everybody else that was close to him. He was the target, the only target of the Clown and if he pushed her away, he'll be following into the Joker's plan.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You are going to be in terrible risk and for once, I don't know if I might be able to protect you."

"Positive. And just so you can rest assured, I can relocate operations somewhere different."

"She can use the League's quarters in Down Town Gotham. I'll protect her," said Black Canary. "The League can use her talents while we supply the equipment."

"All right, we'll keep in touch. Dinah, this time we're going to need the entire League. This Joker has gone too far…"

* * *

For my reader friends...Just wanted to take a moment to tell you that if you want to enjoy a Joker story that is a little different from the mainstream but written in a professional, crafty manner, done with great taste and style, and told in a beautifully vivid way, open your minds to new horizons and read One more Chance, by my friend Mad Madona. I dont think you are going to regret it... Yours truly, Jokerlady 


	31. Conversations With a Killer

_**Author's Note:** Hello friends. I'm back with renewed spirits and plot. For those of you that wanted to know why my long abscence...please don't laugh, but had to chat with one of my characters on the correct way of portraying her. There was something that always ticked me about her, and couldn't put my finger on it...until now. Its good to chat with old friends. This new chapter is a little crazy...but it is all about Joker so bear with me, and for those who asked for more Harley...she said she wanted a larger piece of the action and I had to oblige... so look forward into the future chapters. Like always, thanks for your kind reviews and please keep them coming. And also thank you all for your patience. Hope I will not dissapoint you. Without much delay lets get to the meat of the story..._

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and related character belong to DC COMICS\_

_Disclaimer 2: Some chapters present MATURE SITUATIONS and LANGUAGE so reader discretion is adviced._

_**CHAPTER 31: CONVERSATIONS WITH A KILLER **_

Gordon was very tense; the pain in his leg had escalated to new intolerable levels. Sweat was starting to drip down his forehead, and the muscles in his jaw hurt from the teeth grinding. He grabbed to the armrests on the chair very tightly, trying to think of something else but the pain.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Joker asked as he stood in front of the Commissioner, his head cocked slightly to the side with that large smile still splitting his face like an open wound.

"My leg…the pain…"

"Told you it was a reminder, it's supposed to hurt so you don't forget." Joker kicked the Commissioner on the wounded leg and the police officer howled. "Tough it up, Gordon. I got over it and look at us now…all grown up and extremely happy..." The Jester laughed with jubilance.

"You… fucking… son of a…"

"Sh, sh, sh. Watch the language, Gordon. You're a public officer." Joker giggled as he wagged a menacing finger in front of the Commissioner.

"You just… like hurting people, don't you?"

"Yes, that's true, but what about you? You seem to like hurting Clowns too. Everybody likes hurting Joker. He's in your to do list, isn't he? Drink you coffee, eat your Wheaties and just hurt the Clown."

"This city …never did anything to you, Joker."

"This city hatched an oversized bat." The Clown Prince retorted with a growl.

"That's why you have to inflict so much pain, because we have a protector?"

"Your 'protector' took away everything that had any meaning for me. I was left empty-handed and nobody cared to see if I was hurting…so excuse me for trying to get even." Joker's voice now had changed from the jolly and rambunctious clown to a grave and somber tone.

"Joker you're…"

"Saner… and you have no idea how much of a pain in the butt that is. I want a rain-check on my lunacy; ARRGH!!! I hate your sanity, Gordon. I didn't have to remember all the pain when the Clown was around…

"You need help."

"No, what I need is to kill the Batman once and for all." The clown pointed to his head. "He's in here all the time, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week…every time I plot some good entertainment for this city and now, every time I remember everything he took away from me. My life…my wife. However, when he dies, I will be able to bury all the misery that monster has brought me, die, and be jolly again…no bat, no pain…let the clown loose…let the show go on."

Joker started to giggle uncontrollably, twirl and do pirouettes in front of Gordon, when he suddenly stopped, grabbed the back of his head with both hands and turned away from the Commissioner. His voice was grave as in deep pain, as if the very act of speaking was very painful in itself. "Stop, stop, stop. This is not me…I'm tired of pretending someone I'm not and all this pain and hate are boring and definitely not funny. And this voice on my head…reminding me of my pain, trying to gain control of me…making me do things…I don't find funny…" **_THAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DECIDE TO DIE, AND LEAVE THE STAGE, JACK…SOMEBODY PICKS UP THE PIECES OF YOUR ACT AND TAKE CONTROL…STOP WHINING AN BE A CLOWN…A KILLER CLOWN…AND DO WHAT YOU DO BEST_… KILL WITH A SMILE**…The Clown Prince stared at Gordon with eyes that begged for release, freedom through a dash of suppressed hate "…why can't he go away… and leave me alone?"

"Joker…" Gordon had thought that this was just one of the Clown's performances, but the more he listened to him, the more convinced he was that this was a very perturbed man. He could not believe it but he was starting to feel sorry for the Clown Prince of Crime. "You need to understand that you're making no sense. You need to let us help you."

"Help me…please…help me…" The clown whimpered softly and then started to laugh loud and shrilly. It was as if this was the funniest joke in the whole world. "You think I'm crazy, don't you...?" Joker said under his breath but loud enough for the Commissioner to hear. "You don't seem to understand the problem, Gordon. I am no longer insane…I know who I am, I know who I was. I remember what I've done… and it's horrible the things I've done. I remember my family, my wife, my unborn child..."**NO OFFENSE, BUT _PATHETIC LIFE YOU HAD, JACK…I MADE IT A LOT MORE INTERESTING IF YOU ASK ME..._** Joker brushed a nervous hand over his green curls that bounced back happily. "I remember it all; even the Bat taking part of my life away that fateful night…. THAT is the problem. And do you think I like being out of control? I've never been out of control like this before… I hate been out of control …makes me behave like a deranged… psychotic…monster and the things I've done...For the first time…I feel this…this…GUILT!!! And…I CAN'T STAND THIS FEELING…IT MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACH!!! Joker huffed and screamed to the top of his lungs.

The door to the room opened and Elliot, accompanied of another of Joker's henchmen got in hastily. "Is everything OK, Boss? We heard you screaming…" The Clown turned slowly around and looked to the two men by the entrance; his eyes small and angry…with a glint of murder in those green eyes, like a fire that threatened to incinerate the whole room if let loose; the carved smile on his face pressed thin and extended into a menacing grin. Interrupting the Boss in one of these moods was the same as committing suicide. Elliott swallowed hard and backed off, pulling his comrade out of the room with him. Elliott had never seen the boss like that…and that was a scary … "Uhm….sorry, b-boss. Really, we thought…w-we'll j-just leave now, sir."

The door closed behind the two men as they left and the Jester turned back to the bound Commissioner on the chair and straightened his gray jacket. After letting a deep sigh went on. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done…I've must have been crazy…I kept all those feelings buried very deep inside and it was fine as long as they stayed there. They SHOULD have stayed there, but becoming sane has brought this world of hurting back up. I couldn't help it, Gordon, I couldn't sift through it… don't know how… and I don't want to hurt… not again…and not like this." Joker started to pace nervously in front of Gordon, one hand on his right pocket and the other holding his chin and his eyes focused.

"You met my friend the clown, didn't you? Funny guy… He takes all that pain away from me. Well, I need to let him out…take over my life again…or I'm gonna kill myself because I can't live feeling like this…but I can't find him anywhere… and I will not be able to find him until the Flying Rat is dead and part of the compost. It's like the Joker has forgotten the Joke. Heh, heh…what an irony!" He heard someone talk to him, and he knew who it was. He tried to ignore him, but how could you ignore the rants of a crazy clown with a voice like thunder... **AND YOU WILL SUFFER A LITTLE MORE, JUST FOR MY VERY OWN AMUSEMENT, BECAUSE I LIKE TO SEE YOU SUFFER. YOU NEED TO SUFFER MORE…ONLY THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH YOU NEED ME…HOW MUCH YOU ARE ME.** Joker shook his head suddenly as if trying to brush something off him. "Suffer…I don't have to if I can find the Joke. You know what I need? I need a good laugh…that's what I need….tell me a joke, Gordon."

"What?"

"You heard me, make me laugh."

"I am your hostage…and you want me to tell you a joke?"

"And if you don't, you are going to be a dead hostage." Joker pulled his .38 and aimed it to the Commissioner. Gordon flinched back taken by surprise. **GO AHEAD, KILL THE PIG, TURN TO THE DARK SIDE JACK, (HA, HA, HA).** Joker frowned. "What the heck I'm doing? This is not funny. You're a cop...You have no sense of humor, and you're not funny either, Clown." **NOW I COULD TAKE THAT PERSONALLY, JACK…AND IF I DO, YOU WILL SUFFER EVEN MORE**.

Joker grimaced, lowered his gun and held his face in his hand, with one of his eyes still looking between his fingers at the police officer. It was a menacing look, and Gordon could see the fury in the Clown's eyes intermingled at the same time, with something else…Hidden in that stare, was the shadow of someone who has been running away from himself for too long and was now just ready to give up, and end up at the edge of a precipice, prepared to jump and die, as if death could indeed give him some rest. Joker looked extremely tired, weary, and weak. This was not just the crazy clown from Arkham…this was a man willing to do anything to stop the deep pain eating him alive from within.

"Jack…" Gordon said tentatively. Joker let his hand down and looked at the Commissioner attentively. His green eyes sparkled with a deep sadness, like someone who was desperately trying to find a way out, but was close of loosing all hope. Whoever this man in front of him was, Gordon realized had a name. It was a real name and not a moniker given to him by the press when he committed his first mass murder. This in front of him was a real person, not a caricature of a man. "Listen, Jack. You're making a mistake. If you are feeling guilty, it's because deep down you know this is wrong. Stop this madness now and surrender yourself to the police and I'll make sure you get the help you need."

"You…want…me…to surrender?" Joker focused his eyes on the Commissioner and started to giggle. "You must be fucking kidding me." **YOU HEAR THAT? DON'T BELIEVE HIM…HE JUST WANTS YOU BACK IN THAT ACRYLIC CAGE…JUST TO FORGET ABOUT YOU AGAIN**…

"That's it! Gordy, do you realize what you're doing…trying to make a deal with the me... who's not me?" The Clown Prince said as he cocked his head. "…There's nothing good in Jack, gotta trust me on that one. Anything that was good in him died when his wife did…you could say it was a double homicide committed by the Bat and his associates. I picked up the pieces and made the Joker who he is and what a masterpiece the boy turned out to be... Don't try to break deals with him, Gordon; Jack likes to hurt people, just like I do."

"But you don't have to hurt people, or go through this alone…there's help out there…"

"Help…for what? Help to destroy Joker and bring back old Jack? …You must be joking, Gordy. You can't have light without darkness, Jack can't live without me… We are the Joker now; I'm the Clown Prince of Crime…and that makes me feel…"

The Clown closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Making words to describe what he felt, was like tearing long pieces of his own skin. It hurt to think, it hurt to speak, it hurt to put that rage in terms a mortal could understand. And that pain, frustrated him, causing even more anger. "What I feel …what fuels Joker…nobody understands…only me… and I don't want to feel this way. **YES YOU DO…** No! I want the pain to stop…and it only stops when I kill people…in very… funny …ways. Right Clown?" **YEP, YOU'RE THE MAN.** Joker ran a weary hand down his long face and giggled.

"I'm not joking, Jack. We can help you if you let us reach you. I know what it feels to loose a loved one, I know about pain, but there is no need…"

"SHUT UP!! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PAIN!!" Joker's pulled a hand back only to let it fall with all his might against the Commissioners face. Gordon's glasses flew briefly in the air an fell with a clanging noise against the radiator in the room. The Clown's eyes narrowed, and he stared at the Commissioner scornfully. Gordon could feel the chill down his spine, as if the temperature in the room depended on the Jester's mood and now it had drop to subzero levels. Even the blood starting to come out of the corner of his mouth appeared to freeze in the icy air of the room.

Joker spoke in a low raspy voice. "Do you know what if feels like when the world collapses around you? Do you know what is to loose the lighthouse that guides your ship in the middle of the worst storm and be lost in the middle of the nightmare of your own existence and be left only with the rage of your own misery? Do you know what it feels like to loose all hope of crawling from the deep abyss of your own mind and instead being sucked deeper into the darkness of your own soul?" Joker leaned over to Gordon, his eyes just inches from the bound man. He brushed a gloved hand over the officer's lips."Tell me Commissioner Gordon, when you lost your loved ones…did insanity wrapped you in her sweet arms and kissed you passionately, making you forget your pain?"

"Jack, what happened to you…?"

Joker backed off and shook his head angrily. "Is none of your business, Gordon. Don't go on talking about lost ones when you have no understanding of what it means to loose everything that has any meaning in your life. Your losses are nothing compared with mine…insignificant, that's why I make you lose so much more so you can get a glimpse of the pain inside, but it's a lost cause…it will never be enough to make you feel what I feel. It was better when I didn't have to feel a thing and just had fun…because what I am feeling right now…" Joker straightened back and rested his face in his hands, his eyes glinted a deep, heavy sadness. "No one will understand. No one wants to understand. No one has ever cared to understand…Stop faking you care, Gordon."

"Jack…Joker, whoever you are now… I DO care…let me understand what is it you feel?"

Joker's eyes opened wide. He never expected anybody to ask such a request…somebody who was willing to suffer as much as he has? And why not…? Maybe Gordon could see what others did not want to see…maybe if Gordon felt even a fraction of his pain, he could last longer, until his mission was fulfilled. But still…Gordon was seeing things from the wrong point of view…Joker laughed softly and slammed his hands against the armrests in Gordon's chair.

"Jack AND Joker, Commissioner. One and the same. I'm not Harvey Dent. Harvey is really crazy; believing he's two people and flipping that fucking coin of his to see from which side of the bed to get up. That's a real nutcase. I'm just the Clown Prince of Crime, the Caliph of Clowns, the most feared man in Gotham, plain and simple…with no additives…au natural…I am a clown, a comedian, a gifted artist, and I am a murderer who likes to inflict pain, all in one package. Yes, I'm gonna share my pain with you all, and the world will shudder at my name. At the end…well, at the end you are all going to die laughing. Because death and Joy are one under my wing… and I have plans for this city…Very. Funny. Plans."

Joker started to pace around the room, his arms extended wide triumphantly. In his voice shone the joy of someone who was going to make his most cherished dream come true. "Wish I could tell you...but that would be insane, heh…and I'm not insane, at least not yet. Wait until the curtain opens… Gordy. What I have done to this city until now is just an appetizer. Wait until you get to the main course… everybody is going to remember this forsaken city and everybody will remember this Clown. This is going to be the pinnacle of my career, my greatest achievement, my biggest joke… what I was destined to do since I became me… Maybe then they'll build a monument to my greatness…" Joker started to giggle childishly. "…maybe even get a well deserved postal stamp...which is way overdue. Jack…well, Jack is not needed for the next act…"

Joker made a pause and sighed deeply. The Clown arched his brows and his smile widened with a spark of joy beaming from those forest green eyes. Gordon noted the change in the grinning face. This was not longer the man in pain; this was a child…an evil child out of control, a jokester, a clown…one very dangerous clown. "…Jack can finally jump off the cliff of sanity and die, leaving the stage to me. That was the deal after all…loose total control, for a chance to forget what caused him the deepest pain and suffering, and if he doesn't want to jump again…well, I can always push him off the cliff myself."

The Clown giggled. "You want me to show you my pain? You think you can handle my pain? My pain is my joy…YOUR pain is my joy…it makes me laugh. Let's see how long can you stare deep into my pain without going insane like I did…It's not going to be pretty, Gordon…you've been there once, but never crossed the threshold. This time if you do, there is no turning back, and when you reach my insanity…you'll see how meaningless your existence is without the Joke, and you will understand why the Joker exists at all, to put an end to that all that nonsense of law, order, love…because life is a big joke, from the day you are born, to the day I kill you…and when I kill you…you'll get the punchline." Joker saw the Commissioner staring at him and the Clown smiled complacently. "Don't forget I warned you… let me share a little more pain with you now…nothing big, just some physical pain… for starters."

Joker leaned over and pressed with all his weight on Gordon's injured leg, them Commissioner winced and moaned. "Do you feel it? Do you feel the pain? And this is only a small hint of what I can do and I will do, until this city kneels to my genius, kneels to the magnificence of the Clown Prince of Crime."

"This is not funny..." Gordon spat through gritted teeth. The pain was deep and close to unbearable. Joker stood and backed off a few paces and let out a few chortles, his voice now bouncy and bright.

"Yeah…not funny…but then, I have not been funny for a while. Blame it on Jack. It's time I return some joy to my life. It's time I murder somebody." Joker started to laugh softly. "Please feel free to return to your pain, Commissioner, because I have to return to mine, and mine has black leathery wings." Joker walked towards the exit flapping his arms in the air and making animal noises, and before reaching the door stopped dead pan.

"Pain…is a hilarious feeling...makes you do funny things, like murder…just because you hate this feeling." Joker turned around to face Gordon with a wild stare and a very wild smile. "You know when was the last time I was able to inflict enough pain to get a smile, Gordy? Jack inflicts pain very well as you can see, but only when you get in his bad side, and his pain…yes, it's a mean, evil pain. A pain that comes from hurting deep, repressed anger, and hatred. Oh, and the things he has done with that hatred…he will put Jack the Ripper to shame…"

Joker rolled his eyes and let out a loud cackle. He joined his hands by his face, and took a deep breath as it to take into him, the grandiosity of the moment. "Me? I change his pain into my joy. My joy is much like being underwater…you are enjoying the fishies and say…ahhh, all is so peaceful, so beautiful, but when you realize your air is running out. You panic, and that is hilarious…because you will do the most absurd things to avoid the inevitable…why not sit there and just enjoy the view while you go…and if you are gonna go, why not go with a smile?

"That is what I've told Jack. Life is so fucking ridiculous, that you can't get out of it…alive. So why fight, just laugh your problems and maybe Uncle Joker will be good enough to end your existence…deliver that so much needed punch line early. Jack inflicts pain when you get him angry, but I just like to inflict pain in the sunny days and the rainy days; when I'm happy or I'm sad; in the morning or the evening. Boy, I just like hurting people. It is a lot of fun…and as you can see…I like having fun all the time. Gives meaning to my life." The Jester walked back to Gordon in long rhythmic steps as if dancing a waltz.

"You're psychotic, you need help."

"Psychotic is such a harsh word…I prefer the term eccentric." The Clown laughed very loud. "But Jack always said that I was crazy…out of control…what you think, Gordy? Am I out of control?"

"Totally." Commissioner Gordon said staring at the Clown who was now smiling childishly.

"I tend to disagree. Crazy people are…well, out of control. They do really ridiculous things, talk to imaginary friends, dress oddly, say inappropriate things…" Joker stood still, pondering briefly on his words; a large smile spreading his face, his lips bright as fresh blood. "You know what, Gordy…? I'm really out of control. Heh, heh heh….and a little crazy too. It helps to be crazy when you're in my business. Well, that would also explain what I'm about to do…"

Joker searched the inside of his coat until he produced a purple hand held grenade with his characteristic smiley face on the body of the grenade. The clown pressed the trigger, pulled on the security ring, and brought the explosive close to Gordon's face.

"Wanna dance with me, sweetheart?" The Clown Prince said holding tight to Gordon's shoulder.

"You're gonna blow us up both, Joker."

Joker, giggled maliciously. "Do you believe in God, Commisioner?" Gordon pulled away from the grenade, sweat starting to form on his brow. "Do you think that God will have a purpose for someone like me? That will be a God with one hell of a sense of humor. Maybe God has a sense of humor and we are all living his big Joke...Maybe he is even laughing at us all as we speak. I've always wondered… all this fucking pain deep within that corrupts me…this obsession I have to hurt people for my own amusement… and what is my purpose in life? I kill people…with humor. I don't know how to do anything else with my life and I like my job. Maybe I'm a kind of a population control…I don't know. Maybe I just live to eliminate the dumb, the unattractive and the humorless…That may be the reason you all try to kill me and I always come back…because I have a Holy Mission…what do you think?"

"I…I think you've lost your mind."

"Maybe…I was starting to think exactly the same thing. My behavior is a little more than just eccentric and I always knew that there was something missing inside my head." Joker started laughing. "See? Even you and I can for once agree on something. You wanted to see pain firsthand…but with me, pain and humor come hand by hand and at the end…someone has died so let's have some fun. You belong to the humorless clan, Gordy, so now do me a favor and hold this form me, would you?" Joker said playfully as he pulled the Commissioner's jacket and put the grenade in one of the inside pockets. Securing the jacket nicely back, the Clown Prince rose and walked to the door in long acrobatic strides as if he was skating on ice, and locked the door behind him.

Gordon felt the grenade against his chest and starting thrashing against his bonds. He will have no more than ten to fifteen seconds before the grenade would explode and that would be the end. Joker would have disposed of him as he had disposed of hundreds others. He started to count in his head…

1001…1002…1003… contorting in his chair to try to reach the explosive in his pocket. No such luck. 1004…1005…1006… Whoever tied him up did a very good job…1007…1008…This was the end…he will never be able to reach it…1009…in time…BAM!!

* * *

Please friends, let me know your sincere opinion on this chapter. I promise to post more often. In the meantime I have been venturing into the unknown with another story: Joker's Playmate. Totally different genre, but with a plot. Check it out if you like, but be warned...that story contains slash...Just another experiment from Jokerlady's lab. HAHA. 


	32. The Face in the Mirror

**Author Note:**_ Here is another installment of this long story. Again I take the opportunity to than you all for your kind comments and your criticism has been kindly received. Thanks for dropping by to leave a piece of your mind. I normally dont dedicate chapters...except for some very sporadic exceptions...but this one is dedicated to those of you that wanted more Harley...hope you like it._

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and related characters are property of DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer 2:Some scenes may contain MATURE LANGUAGE nd SITUATIONS. Reader's discretions is adiviced_

**CHAPTER 32: FACE IN THE MIRROR**

Joker took off his white necktie and hung it from the perch by the corner. He sat at his mahogany desk with his legs propped up on it, his arms crossed over his chest and stared straight into the ceiling with a deep frown on his face. He was losing control again and he hated that feeling. He felt like someone else inhabiting a body that was his own, usurping his very own space in his mind with him not able to do anything about but watch as it happened and he knew it meant the clown was gaining terrain. It was a very familiar feeling. He was losing his sanity all over again.

This charade had taken too damn long. He wished that he could laugh like he had done before, not remembering the past, but he now felt like he was fighting a losing battle against himself instead. Jack was not him…no matter how hard he tried to be logical and methodical…it was like playing a character that he did not feel, that he did not understand. He fellt so alien... He was just a façade for the clown, and that same clown was the real actor in this whole play, the only thing that seemed real in his world.

The Jester's mind was running at the speed of sound with thoughts of fun, jokes and death. Murder was so funny…it had started to make him smile again. He really liked overpowering the old Commissioner. Having power was always and exhilarating feeling…having the last say of someone else's life in his hands. That was true power.

Unfortunately he was losing his power over himself. He felt like that by holding this murdering urges he was trying to hold a raging bull down by the horns, and he was starting to lose grip of the beast. He needed to let this beast free or it will kill him, and he couldn't do anything about it. The pressure in his chest from the internal conflict was asphyxiating him.

"A good laugh…that is what I need." The Jester told himself still staring at the ceiling blankly. "But how can I laugh when I'm hurting this bad. What have you done to me, Clown? Only murder will make me happy now."

In his mind, a voice was quick in bringing back the answer.

**STOP BLAMING ME FOR EVERYTHING YOU FEEL WHEN THIS WAS ALL YOUR IDEA AND, PLEASE, STOP LYING TO YOURSELF….MURDER HAS ALWAYS BEEN FUN FOR YOU…**

"But this is my great triumph… I outsmarted the Bat and am about to put an end to his miserable existence…why am I not happy?" The Jester said solemnly. "Why can't I feel anything at all?"

**BECAUSE I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN FEEL JOY…AND I'M ONLY HAPPY WHEN SOMEONE DIES, NOT WHEN YOU WANT.**

"You are me… I am you… and together… we are the Joker."

**EEEEWWW! NO WAY I'M LIKE YOU!!!!**

Joker laughed softly. "No…? Watch this, darling…"

Joker set the legs down on the floor and searched frantically on the top drawer, while he giggled softly to himself. He pulled a long thin letter opener from the drawer, put his right hand palm down on the desk and in one fast move, he forced the knife through his hand and the table. The jester's jaw muscles tensed as he tried to contain a scream; a painful bellow that swiftly transformed into a malicious soft laugh behind gritted teeth. Blood started to accumulate under his white, bony hand.

**DAMN IT! THAT HURTS… ARE YOU… OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND…? OF COURSE YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND…**

"Just like you…two nuts from the same tree…remember? And the hurting…? You need to taste part of my hurting…because life is not the Garden of Eden, Clown and it reminds me that I'm still breathing." Joker wiggled the knife still embedded on his hand and the table. The Jester shut his eyes trying to deal with the pain. He let out a loud grunt.

**OF COURSE IT IS THE GARDEN OF EDEN. I'M THE SNAKE…HSSSSSS….AND YOU ARE THE NUT WHO ENJOYS THE TASTE OF THE FORBIDEN FRUIT…YOU LIKE BEING THE JOKER. YOU LIKE BEING INSANE. YOU LIKE BEING ME.**

"_What streak of madness lies inside me? What is the truth my fears conceal? What evil force make Edward Hyde of me? What darker side of me he reveals? What is this strange obsession that's tearing me apart? Some strange deranged expression of what's in my heart? (from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the musical)_

_**OH HOW CUTE...QUOTING BROADWAY NOW...IS THIS SOME KIND OF TRIVIA?**_

"You are my obsession…but I'm torn between my pain and you."

**WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO…?**

"The pain…you don't like the pain…. take it all away…"

**AWAY? YOUR PAIN IS BORING, YES, BUT I LIKE YOU IN PAIN… IT MAKES ME LAUGH.**

"No…do not mock me, Clown…ARGH!" Joker moved the knife still on his hand, and the pain forced tears down his eyes. Who was he trying to fool? He really wanted to be jolly again and do what the Clown Prince of Crime was expected to do. Begging the clown was not going to bring the suffering to an end. There was only one way out. Only becoming the Clown would bring him peace…only then he would not have to feel this pain that was consuming him like an infernal fire. This physical pain was more endurable and even more welcomed than having to feel the empty, hollow feeling in his chest. He would be able to be free. "I don't belong here…I need to go."

**YOU GOT THAT RIGHT… A CUP OF CYANIDE IN YOUR TUMMY OR A BULLET ON THE NOGGIN' … JACK BE QUICK AND MAKE YOUR PICK. HA, HA, HA, HAAAAA.**

"I can't die yet…The bat is not dead." Joker removed the knife and retrieved a green handkerchief from his pocket that he fashioned as a basic bandage securely around his wound.

**YOU REALIZE HOW PATHETIC YOU ARE…? YOU AND YOUR REVENGE ARE STARTING TO DRIVE ME NUTS AND THAT IS QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT BECAUSE I'M ALREADY INSANE. GET IT OVER WITH AND LET ME OUT…I'M TIRED OF BEEN FED LEFTOVERS. I NEED TO SPREAD MY WINGS, CAUSE SOME MAYHEM…**

"I need some freedom…fresh air." Joker said under his voice while massaging his forehead where he started to feel a very low grade, persistent headache. "I need to set my thoughts straight."

**AND I NEED TO CREATE SOME CHAOS…**

"I need to kill someone… spill some blood." Joker chirped looking at the small amount of blood that started to seep through the bandage.

**NOW THAT…**

"…will make you and me very happy. You're right Clown…life is so pointless without a punchline… a deadly punchline. My life is meaningless without you. You….bring a smile to my life…you make me extremely happy because with you, nothing else matters but the punchline…Not even pain." A sudden spark of adrenaline filled him…the anticipation of the hunt…the anxiety before the great performance.

**DOES THAT MEAN I GET TO BLOW GORDONS HEAD OFF NOW???**

"Everything in due time, my friend."

**AWWWW, MAN… **

"But I promise we will fulfill our murderous appetite once the Bat is marked for death?"

**JACK…**

"I'm tired of fighting you. I'm tired of fighting me. This is who I am. Let's join forces instead of fighting each other. This is who we are and no one will ever change that. Even Jeannie knew that."

**YOU FINALLY SAW THE LIGHT…I'M ABOUT TO CRY…. **

"All this pain is just tearing me apart…making me feel miserable and empty. Please… take the pain away once more….I can't live like this. I am the Joker…I make people laugh."

**LAUGH TILL THEY'RE LAST BREATH…**

"I put the FUN in FUNERAL…." Joker said starting to giggle loudly.

**YOU PUT THE SMILE IN DEATH'S FACE.**

"We deliver the deadliest punchline." The childish giggles were now low guffaws.

**YOU ARE…**

"I am…" Joker leaned forward on his table and set his head down over his folded arms. The laughter was uncontrollable now.

**WE ARE…**

"Joker wants to feel whole again… Joker will be whole again."

The Clown Prince's thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking at the door of his office. Without waiting for an answer, the door opened to reveal Michael carrying a PDA in his hand where he was making some marks. Joker stared silently at the hacker, his face paler than usual and his eyes weary and sleepy, but the carved smile on his face, larger than usual.

"Boss, they're making an announcement on TV…think they are going to agree to your terms." Blip said looking from the little screen of his PDA to the scary, looking at the smiling clown sitting at the desk. "Boss, you're ok?"

"'Course I'm OK." The Clown said obviously forcing a wide smile in his wide pasty face. He rose from behind the desk and stretched. "You said the city is willing to negotiate with me?"

"Yeah…amazing but true." Blip said advancing towards the desk while noticing the Clown's eyes become resentful. Michael swallowed. "I mean… I never doubted you could convince them but I thought the Bat will make it more difficult for you."

"The Bat is in no position to make demands… I have Gordon…he has nothing to bargain with."

Blip noticed the blood on the surface of the table and the knife beside the tiny puddle. He also noticed the Jester's bandaged hand. "True…not much room for negotiation there. Boss… you sure EVERYTHING is OK…? Your hand…"

The Jester looked at the green rudimentary bandage on his right hand and smiled maliciously. "Just an accident while I was trying to prove a point…it's gonna be fine." Joker pressed the injured palm and his smiled widened…the pain reminded him he was still alive. "Is the report still on TV?"

"Think so…" Michael said looking strangely at the Jester as he grabbed a bright green tie from the coat hanger by the corner and wrapped it around his neck. "...they keep repeating it every half hour or so."

"So let's take a look…" Joker walked around the table and headed towards the door. Michael still looked at the small puddle of blood on the table when he realized the Boss was heading to the common room. He turned around and left the room in long fast strides.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

She finally arrived at the building. She had seen it in the news a few nights ago, as a footnote to the bomb threat at the Davenport Arena and at that time it had not hit her.

They had surrounded two members of an out of town gang that has been rumored was helping the Joker locally. The whole perimeter had been filled with patrol cars, SWAT teams and other police officers and when they raided the building to complete the arrests, they found the apartment empty. It could have been just bad timing, and the gang members just left in the nick of time before the police arrived, but when the news reporter said that they looked as if they had vanished in thin air…that's when it hit her.

Joker was one resourceful clown. Harley knew that. And one way he stayed ahead of the police is to have multiple ways of leaving a crime scene without been detected. That was his trademark… to appear and disappear from the scene of a crime like David Copperfield. For that purpose, Joker had developed a plan of escape using the underground tunnels of Gotham. Many of those tunnels were now abandoned and most were forgotten, which nicely suited the Clown Prince for his plans and she remembered there was one of those tunnels nearby. She remembered having used it before.

"Harl…you should have thought of this before…" she said to herself as she started to walk around the building in the police uniform she was using as a costume. She fixed her hat and placed a hand over her gun on her hip trying to look like she meant business. Nobody would stop her to ask questions and she will be able to move freely around the premises. "If I could not find Puddin' above the ground is because he is hiding underneath it."

There was only one problem with that idea…she didn't know that Joker had an underground hideout. He never really mentioned a thing at all. Could the Clown Prince of Crime be hiding things from her...? If he was…why? That is something she couldn't understand but if she was right and she found Joker hiding in an underground location, she will have to have a little talk with him, because secrets between boyfriend and girlfriend are not healthy in a relationship.

She made a turn in Hansen Street and went behind the building. She remembered this alley; it was slowly coming back to her. This was becoming familiar territory.

There it was. The black, round manhole was there like she had remembered, but sitting in the corner were two homeless bums rubbing their hands together and exchanging a smoke. No good…she needed some privacy. She walked over to the two men.

"Ok, fellas. Start moving. Yeh can't sit here in the middle of the night."

The homeless with the baseball cap looked at her and nudge the other on the elbow. They both smell like a combination of whiskey and booze, topped by the fact that these guys have probably not seen a shower in weeks. "But officer, we're botherin' nobody…can yeh just give this poor fellows a chance?"

"No can't do, buddy. Yeh know the rules…need to find shelter for the night."

"Oh come on toots…" said the other homeless sounding half asleep. "All shelters ar' full at this time. Just look the other way, an' be a nice girl?"

"I'm gonna count till three before I let my friend do the talking."

The two homeless stared at her with confused look on their faces. This bums were not getting the message, maybe it was time to do the talking Joker style. She pulled the gun at the two men on the floor. "One…"

"Ok, ok…no reason to get hasty with that, toots." The man with the baseball cap squealed while jumping rapidly to his feet. The other man followed suit.

"Two…" Harley cocked her gun.

"Let's get out of here Marvin," the other man said pulling his friend by the sleeve. "This broad is crazy…"

"Yeh have no idea, buster," Harley said under her breath as the two bums abandoned the site hastily, trying to avoid an unpleasant encounter with the police woman. Harley was thankful she didn't have to go any further… after all this was not a real gun but a toy revolver she had craftily transformed to look and feel like the real thing. Getting her hands on the real thing had been a nightmare and until she could find a dealer that would be kind enough to get her a real weapon, she was stuck with the prop. Why is it that everybody that saw her and identified her ran away like they had seen the devil…? That was beyond her, but maybe it had something to do with her boyfriend, because the last dealer she had tried to do business with, left in a hurry repeating the words "_You are Harley Quinn…my God…the_ _Joker…? Not the Joker, I'm getting away from that crazy clown_" as he picked up his merchandise and left. Curious little fellow.

Well, time to continue with the little field trip; a field trip that hopefully will put end to the mystery of where had the Joker being hiding all this time. Harley made a quick survey of the alley to guarantee that it was deserted and finally approached the manhole. She knelt on the ground and slipped two fingers through two small holes on the center of the black weathered cover and pulled with all her might. She couldn't move the metal cover from the man hole. It was too heavy. Harley stood up and removing her hat scratched the back of her head. This was going to be easier said than done. How did Joker, with a thinner complexion than hers been able to open the manhole? She looked around towards the dumpster on the right side of the alley as if searching for something she could use to pry open the metal lid. There was nothing readily available that would serve to pry open that thick metal lid. She must be missing an important part of this picture, but what?

She bent down by the manhole and looked at the black lid in great detail. Though the lighting on the alley was poor, she could still see small defects on the surface of the metal. She noticed that at the bottom of the lid, the shield of the city seemed to be a separate piece altogether.

Harley pressed on the shield that gave away hardly a millimeter. It was promising. She pressed on the shield this time aided with all her weight and the emblem sank a whole centimeter producing a hissing sound from underneath the lid. The metal piece lifted slightly from the floor and she pushed it to the side effortlessly until she could see the ladder and the space was large enough to let someone through.

She took a look around the alley to make sure there were no eyes spying on her and silently slid through the manhole. While standing on the ladder, she pulled the lid again and the same hissing noise. It must be some type of locking mechanism installed by Joker…but to protect what? The tunnels were just an escape route, not a hideout..were they? She slid down the ladder and jumped to the ground causing a large splash of water that soaked her pants and her shoes.

"EEEEEWWW!!!" she exclaimed shaking her leg trying to get the water off her shoes. "There could be things growing in this muck that I'm not vaccinated against." Harley took her flashlight and illuminated the tunnel both ways. It seemed to extend forever in both directions and there wasn't even a clue as to which way to start the search. At least there were no things lurching on the shadows looking at her. She closed her eyes and Eeny Meeny Miny Moed the direction to follow along the tunnel finally deciding on heading north. This was really creepy…searching for Joker in the deep tunnels of Gotham city old sewer system was the last thing she thought she would be doing.


	33. Developing Plots

_**Author's note:** Hello friends...here I am with another update to this story. Was checking today...this is chapter 33 which means you have approached the last third of the story.(Yeah, I know I said that before, but this story has grown...because of all of your kind words and warm reception)..Hoped you have liked this little trip so far. The original plot has just changed slightly, now Harley is gonna get some respect...and some other characters get a little more involved...please be kind and review this story and give me your ideas and impressions. I love hearing from you guys...and stay tuned...more Joker in the future as the story unfolds and other stories simmer in the pot of my imagination._

_Without much delay_

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and related stories belong to DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer 2: Some chapters contain scenes with MATURE language and SITUATIONS. Please be warned._

**CHAPTER 33: DEVELOPING PLOTS**

It's been eight hours since the last communication with the Joker. It seemed more like eight centuries. For Batman the time seemed to have come to almost a complete stand still. In the Batcave, he was still working with the LCD screen that the Joker had sent, trying to interface with the receiving unit in an attempt to locate the point of origin of the signal. He will have to wait for the next communication from the Clown Prince this would be the only way to discover his hideout, but that will give him an advantage.

Joker was keeping his distance. It was very unusual for someone who was addicted to be in the spotlight and to perform as close to his audience as possible. What was the game this lunatic was trying to play? Batman could not forget the words of the Clown when he admitted, very subtly, on the attack on Robin. And the cats meowing in pain at night was an image that incriminated him in Selina's attack too. Not only did Batman had physical evidence on Joker's part on the museum, he had a partial confession. Joker was on a rampage and Commissioner Gordon seemed to be the next target. How could he lure that psychopath to perform in the open? He had to try. The Clown was out of control, and this city couldn't stand any more bloodshed.

"Hi, Bruce. Any luck?" said Nightwing coming down the stairs.

"This is quite a piece of equipment. The hand held unit is custom made over a Japanese digital video player. There are none in the US, so Joker had to get this unit directly from the manufacturer in Japan."

"Can we track the delivery?"

"Hope we can do so in time. Alfred is in the computer getting through with the Japanese manufacturer."

"Joker is not a computer whiz."

"I would not be so sure…remember the papers you recovered from Garibaldi?"

"The program designs? What about them?"

"There were notes all over the sheets…written in green ink...it was Joker's handwriting."

"You must be kidding me…Joker a program designer?"

"I don't know if I would call him a programmer, but he definitely has enough knowledge to play an active role on Garibaldi's plan to hack the government…if it is indeed Blip's plan originally. I'm having my doubts now."

"But the main design of this scheme seems to be still Garibaldi's. Didn't he try this before?"

"I know. It is definitely Garibaldi behind this one, but Joker seems to be more involved than just supplying funds for this plan, and I want to know why. Joker wouldn't try this if he was not getting something out of it…a laugh…and when Joker laughs someone dies. If we can pinpoint where Blip is receiving his shipments, then maybe we can narrow the search for the Joker's hideout or at least intercept Garibaldi and remove him from the Joker's side. Once we remove Blip, Joker will be left crippled. Maybe then we can catch up to his game before someone else gets hurt."

"You were right about Joker not following a pattern."

"Yes, at least not one I can predict yet. And he's totally out of character to behave so…logically, and his words are just plain mean, not funny, just mean. "

"This is the first time we haven't been able to catch up with him. He's insane. He just doesn't make any sense. How could he manage to get away so easily?"

"Don't know." Batman stared at the LCD screen on top of the desk in silence. His fists were tightly clenched on the wooden surface. This was one of the most difficult admissions in his life. "Joker is full of surprises, and might get away with it this time…because I can't catch him in time. There is something that I'm missing about Joker; another proof that profiling him is impossible, and what I don't know left eighty-six people dead."

"The people at the Arena? Bruce…"

"Eighty-six innocent people crushed to death when they tried to escape…" Batman said with gritted teeth, his hands clenched tightly on the desk. "And the Clown didn't even had to use real explosives to kill people this time. Just bluffing had produce as many dead…"

"That's the Joker's fault, not yours."

"This city counts on us for their protection against evils like the Joker," said Batman turning to face the young crime fighter. "We are the last line of defense between the Joker and them when nobody else can, Dick, and we failed. I failed."

"Bruce, don't…" interjected Dick when the communication unit beeped. Nightwing looked at the ID in the monitor. "It's Barbara."

"I'm listening Oracle."

"Hi Bruce. Any news from my dad?"

"Not yet. How you've been holding"

"OK, so far. I just finished going over the Riddler security tapes at Arkham and I have a theory, but I need your help to confirm it."

"What is it?"

"Well, this might sound silly, but I really think that Larry Wilde is the Joker."

"The lawyer? It can't be," interrupted Dick, "why would Joker want to go back into Arkham and risk being caught and returned to his cell?"

"Not only that, why did Joker wanted to talk to Nigma?" Batman said. "They're not exactly in speaking terms, more likely at each other's throats. You sure about this, Barbara?"

"Almost. The way Wilde behave at the security posts was odd, the way he spoke, his mannerisms… very suspicious. I even compared the video to known footage from Joker and the more I look at the videos the more I'm convinced it's him. It was as if this was all a big game, and he was enjoying it."

"Could it be possible?"

"That we weren't counting on the Joker crazy enough to go back to Arkham?" said Batman walking towards the Bat-computer main station. "We have underestimated his insanity…or his bravado up to this time. He has not been behaving like we have expected him to. It might not be so illogical to go back to the prison from which he escaped…when he has more to risk or lose if he didn't, and no matter how risky it would look…but what?"

"I have a few excerpts from his conversation with the guards that I would like you to analyze in the Bat-computer against known voice records. I need a second opinion in this theory. Sometimes I feel I'm seeing Joker everywhere."

"Upload the files, Barbara, we're ready."

The main station of the Bat-computer blipped and showed the incoming transmission. Bruce authorized the upload and in a few seconds three voice files were in the mainframe. Batman opened the voice recognition program and moved the files over to the play list.

He opened the first video clip to see the mysterious Larry Wilde, suitcase in hand and fixing the glasses over his long oval face. He was thin framed, and probably just slightly over six feet tall, judging from the comparison Batman was able to make with structures he knew so well inside the hospital. That was Joker's height. Wilde ran a hand over his brown and gray curly hair, and smiled wide…he definitely was enjoying this. Batman ran the voice recognition program on the file as it started to play.

_-The guard handed Wilde his ID card. "…If the Riddler tries anything just let the security guard know, somehow. That's all I can do for you. Sure you don't wanna reconsider having the guard by you during the interview?"_

_"You don't worry about me. I know how to deal with the psycho type…do it all the time," answered Wilde. "Thank you for your help, officer…" _

"_Reynolds."_

"_Oh yes, Reynolds… like the aluminum foil." _Wilde smiled with glee as he turned away from the frowning officer at the security post_. "Well, thanks…but I will take the floor from here Mr. Tinfoil …heh… Give my regards to Mrs. Saran Wrap for me."_Bruce could have sworn giggles followed the large smile.

The video stopped and the computer beeped again. A message appeared in the middle of the screen. MATCH FOUND. SUBJECT: 0801, JOKER. Bruce tested the other two files with the same results both times. Larry Wilde's voice pattern was definitely the Clown's.

"Larry Wilde IS the Joker… no," Bruce said as he paused and tapped the console rhythmically. "The Joker is Larry Wilde… the Joker is Wilde."

"Incredible, the lead was looking at us directly in the eye and we didn't even see it. He didn't even try to disguise his voice."

"The same way, we didn't see the clue in Lee Oswald LaGrange…because these leads are so subtle…so small for the big, pompous style of the Clown Prince of Crime who has always wanted to show off his intellectual superiority. The leads are very restrained, this is not his style. I can't understand his game and I can't see beyond his actions a pattern I could follow. What am I dealing with...?"

"Now to try to figure out what he wanted from Nigma," said Dick walking over to Bruce.

"Whatever he couldn't get from Brufford," said Oracle. "They found his body floating in the Gotham River last night…at least what was left of it. According to police reports he must've been underwater for no less than a month."

"Any Joker trademarks in the body?" Bruce opened the file on Edward Nigma.

"None visible this time, but we should wait for the autopsy report."

"This adds a totally new perspective to the case. If Wilde was the Joker, then he was close enough to kill Nigma. Barbara, any idea on how would he have gained access to Riddler?

"Well the reports were right when they say that Wilde never touched Nigma. It's part of the Asylum's security protocols."

"Do you have the video from the interview?"

"Yes, thanks to my contact in the Asylum."

"Upload it. I would like to take a closer look to that meeting."

"I'm sending it now." Barbara said when the Bat-computer beeped. He loaded the video file and ran it in slow motion pace. Batman stopped the video and rewound it.

"Take a look at this, Dick." Both detectives looked attentively into the computer screen. In the video, the lawyer hands the guard beside him. After examining the pen, the guard passes it to Nigma who tries to use it to write in the papers but the pen seems empty. After shaking the pen several times and unsuccessfully producing ink, the Riddler dips the tip of the pen in his tongue and tries once more. Nigma throws the pen to Wilde who produces another pen that he hands to the guard. "Perfect setting. The pens would have gone through undetected even under scanners, and Joker knew what Edward Nigma would do when faced with an empty pen. The unknowing Nigma was putting the poison right on his mouth and delayed venom would also take the blame off Wilde. The same thing happened to the nurse; she died days later the meeting with the mystery intern and contact with the poison…Brilliant."

"Nigma never even suspected."

"Edward Nigma is not the most trusting individual in the world, Dick. He had to know that Wilde was the Joker all along or there would not have been a meeting at all. Nothing escapes Edward Nigma. And how do you convince your enemy of your good intentions?" Bruce continued to go through the pages of information on the Riddler.

"It must have been something they have in common, something they both wanted."

"If Joker could convince the guards that he was Larry Wilde," said Barbara, "He could probably talk his way into Nigma's greed."

"Joker had to make an offer that Edward couldn't resist… or Joker needed something really bad from Nigma. I know the Riddler, and forcing the Joker to come groveling at his feet would have been priceless. And I don't think that Nigma knew what had happened to his lawyer yet."

"It could be wonderful if we knew what they were talking about. Can we have a transcript of the conversation he had with the Riddler?"

"Unfortunately not, Dick," explained Barbara, "conversations between lawyers and their clients are monitored but kept confidential which means no audio is recorded. Dinah and I already tried to reproduce the conversation by reading their lips but both Riddler and Joker were very careful on avoiding the cameras when they spoke. The only thing I can tell you is that whatever they were talking about seems to involve the military. The guard in the room confirmed that the armed forces were several times addressed during the meeting though he couldn't give any details as to the context it was used. Whatever it was appears to involve the military."

"Those two really know how to work security at the Asylum, that's scary."

"That's what I've tried to tell the hospital board time and time again." Batman stretched in his chair and rested his chin on his hand. This had confirmed what he had dreaded most; that Joker's plans were just the beginning of something big. "There's something that we're missing here. Remember what you told me about Garibaldi searching information about the Pentagon? I think this is the answer. Neo said that Joker had killed a high ranking army officer after getting some classified information from him…I know Nigma. He is well connected in several areas…one of them, military and defense. A lot of people owe him favors. Joker knew that and unable to get it from Brufford, he went to the source. But why? What does he want to do?"

"Isn't it simple? Garibaldi plans on hacking the government computers again. That is going to cripple the entire Nation if Blip succeeds and a crippled nation will probably send the Clown on a riot… he has a twisted sense of humor. This time, Joker is backing him up, maybe helping him with the funding and design of the program to do it so maybe he as a greater chance of success."

"But there is no punch line…that is what is so unusual. None of this crimes and plans are funny. Why would Joker go through with them…? Makes no sense." Bruce stretched on the chair…his hands were holding firmly against the console. Why was the Joker not following his regular pattern? Then the thought that this might not be the same clown he was used to fight. If he was not…who was he fighting then? He had to know….he had to stop the clown before the death toll continued escalating. He needed to know his enemy in order to defeat it.

Bruce opened a file on Edward Nigma at the computer terminal. "No, he will not hack the Pentagon if I can stop him first. Barbara, I need you to investigate the recent death of a high ranking military officer that lived here in Gotham. It must have happened within the last month. According from the reports I have, he was shot on the head, and was probably exposed to Joker venom before being murdered."

"How did you get the information, Bruce?" Oracle asked.

"Leopards…they are a gang from Brenton that has been working for Joker locally. One of their members cracked during the interrogatory."

"Better to let the Government know that there might be a threat to National Security." Nightwing said.

"I agree. I will give the Pentagon the heads up and follow up with Inland Security." Bruce took a deep breath. "Barbara, rest assured that I intend to bring Gordon back alive."

"I know you are…you've never let me down. I will check the police murder reports and get back if I find anything. Keep in touch." The line went dead.

"If Wilde was Joker, and he attacked Nigma, how do the nurse and the intern fit in?"

"Those are my two loose ends, Dick, and I think I know why they are still loose...because I am making the wrong connections of those two with the case. Now the more I think about it, I don't think that these two individuals are related to Nigma's illness. That was Joker's doing."

"Harley…"

"What?"

"When I intercepted Blip, he said something about Joker trying to kill him as he tried to kill Harley if he were to betray the Clown. That has to be it. The nurse was showing out the new intern, and the last place they saw them together was at the women's ward, wasn't it? They were there not to kill Nigma, but to kill Harley."

"Joker gets annoyed with Harley often, but normally he doesnt care for her. Hiring someone to kill her? Why?"

"If he spoke with Riddler, you think that Nigma knew about your meetings with Harley?"

Batman pondered in the possibility. Edward Nigma had a vast web or information within the confines of the Asylum that rivaled the one that Joker had. More than once, Bruce had confirmed that there was nothing that happened in the asylum that would escape either criminal. "If that's true, Harley could be dead because of me." Bruce shook his head wearily. "I shouldn't have been that careless, but I never expected Joker to be capable of having Harley killed. Theirs is a love-hate relationship that has never escalated more than moderate domestic violence. It didn't occur to me he would try to actually kill her."

"Joker is not been acting like our usual clown. Everybody is fair game for him now."

"You know what that means, right? Joker has no boundaries. He's stretching every single joke to the extreme in one deadly performance…even to the point of not being funny. He is not having reserves on who he kills or who he hurts. Gordon is in terrible danger, Dick…and I'm praying we can save the Commissioner from that maniac's hands soon before that Clown wants to include him in his performance."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Harley had been in the tunnels for a little over half an hour now without finding the smallest hint that Joker had had used this tunnels in a long time. Maybe she was wrong and the Clown had not used the tunnels at all or maybe she should have headed the other way. She was tempted to turn around and go back to the starting point and explore the other half of the tunnel, when she heard a hissing sound coming from the shadows.

She stopped in her tracks and illuminated the tunnel walls timidly with her flashlight. The tunnel was empty…so why did she feel that something was looking at her, from the darkness? Harley's breathing picked up. This was an uneasy feeling, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Who's there?" She asked the darkness that responded with a soft hissing sound. She shuddered. "Puddin'…t-that you? This is not f-funny."

Harley looked around her, and listened carefully. The hissing sound had stopped and the only thing that could be heard was water dripping from the ceiling not too far from her. _Harl, girl…your letting this place get t'yeh…it was only the wind,_ she thought to herself as she giggled softly…then the darkness growled back at her.

"That's no wind," she started to say when she felt her heart skip a bit or two, against her throat and she saw a large bulk of the darkness hurling towards her. She started to breathe rapidly; the adrenaline was taking over her body, heightening her senses. The dark shadow moved at the speed of sound and she hardly had any time to dock and slide to avoid colliding with the oversized monster. Her maneuver was unfortunately not quick enough, for she felt something hard hitting her right shoulder like a knife cutting into her shirt and scrapping her skin. The pain hit her like a hot poke running from her shoulder and down her arm.

She slid into a corner with her back pressed against a solid wall to concentrate only in defending her front. Harley ran a hand by her shoulder and felt the heat and pain, and something wet. She looked at her hand and noticed a something black and sticky…in this darkness it was difficult to confirm what it was but she took a taste and felt the coppery taste of her own blood. The darkness growled again, this time louder and angrier. Harley shone her flashlight to the source of the growl and noticed a mountain of glittering green scales and on top of the mountain, where the head should be…two red blazing coals glowed evilly at her.

The mountain of green pounced again, incredibly fast for its size and bulk, but Harley was prepared for it this time. Two large clawed hands high in the air started to fall down threatening to shred her to pieces when she slid between the large shadow's legs and after a safe distance was guaranteed, she kicked the scaly mountain in what she thought was the groin. The monster grunted in pain, and buckled slightly but quickly recovering its footing. The monster roared fiery making the entire tunnel reverberate.

The creature thrust with all his might towards the woman with the flashlight in her hand, but Harley swiftly got out of his way, jumping acrobatically, and never staying in one place more than a second. She was succeeding on staying away from the beast's claws, but she needed to find a way out of the tunnel for good if she was going to survive this ordeal.

"WHY…YOU …NOT…LEAVE…CROC…ALONE!!!" The green beast finally spoke through a snarl. "LEAVE….ME… BE!!!!!"

"Killer….?"She said timidly to the green mountain of scales while panting against the wall. She knew this monster… "That you? It's me…Harley."

The Beast growled again, and with the growl, dust fell from the tunnel's ceiling. Another one of those and the ceiling was going to cave in, Harley thought as she precariously missed the large claws by millimeters. She had to be faster.

No such luck.

The beast lashed again against the petite figure and one of the scaly fists hit her squarely on the back and she lost her balance falling to the floor on her knees as she lost her grip on the flashlight that rolled on the floor reaching the wall in front of her where it flickered and turned off. A powerful hand grabbed her right arm that was already starting to get numb from the previous attack, and flung her against a wall, draining all the air out of her lungs. She tried to leave the wall and make a run for her life when a cold rough hand wrapped around her neck and started to put pressure on her windpipe.

"Croc…will… teach…you… a lesssssssson." The green monster, now reduced to a mountain of blackness in the poorly lit tunnel, said while tightening his grip around the tiny neck.

Harley started to see sparks of silver in front of his eyes. "Please Killer….it's me…. (gasp)…Harley Quinn…We…are friends… Joker…"

"Joker…." The monster repeated with a growl… He's large broad face coming within inches of hers, where she could see bare yellow sharp teeth spilling drool. "Croc…paid…his duesssss…to the Clown. Doesssss not owe the Clown."

"I know," she whispered fighting to stay conscious. Harley was sure this was the end. "But you and I, Croc… were friends."

The large scaly face came even closer, and sniffed her face.

"Cotton candy….you ssssssmell like cotton candy." The monster said softening the grip on the girl's neck. Harley slid against the wall slightly…her legs were feeling like made up of jelly. "Harrrrrrrrleeey?"

The scaly hand left the neck and helped instead helped support her. "Hi ya (koff, koff)…big guy. That was…a (koff)…close call. I have never been so happy with my shower gel…" She tried to giggle, but was only successful on producing a coughing fit. Killer Croc offered a scaly hand that she accepted gratefully…the floor seemed to not be as solid as she remembered it.

"Croc isssssss ssssssorrrrry. Did not want to hurt friend Harrrrrley….You, you've been good to me." The giant lizard guided the young woman gently and helped her sit on the floor. His growls were now sounding like innocent purrs. "Why is Harrrrley in the dark sewer… dangerous place for someone like you?"

"I'm searching for… (koff)…my Puddin, Croc. He's missing." Harley said massaging her throat.

"Everybody ssssearching for the Clown." Croc said with a sneer. "Heard he isssss in big trouble."

"You could say that…" Harley quipped with a smile. Joker had been in a rampage the last few weeks that had left eighty people dead at the Davenport Arena and a missing police Commissioner. Rumor had it that Joker had kidnapped the Commissioner and that was out of character for the Clown Prince of Crime. Joker did not kidnap people…he just murdered them. And kidnapping Gordon was a suicidal move onto itself. He will have the entire police department and guano-man on his tail after that if it was true. What was Joker up to?

"Other lady said the Clown told her to meet in the sewers… You'rrrrre meeting with 'im too?"

Harley looked at the mountain of green with suspicion. "No I'm not…I'm actually….what did you just say Croc…another woman?"

"Days ago… a woman and a man walked these tunnels. They were to meet the Clown. Croc intercepted them…wanted them out of Croc's tunnels. Woman reminded Croc of promise made to the Clown when Joker helped me escape from Arkham, and had to let them go."

"A lady with a man…" Harley said narrowing her eyes pensively. "Young lady, Croc?"

"Yessssss."

"Was she pretty?"

Killer Croc cocked his head to the side and smiled. Rows of sharp yellow razors-like teeth glowed in the dim light of the tunnel as he tried to smile. "Croc does not like brunettes…but overall I say yes."

"Do you have any idea if they found Joker, Croc?"

"Must have…didn't ssssee them after that day. Harrrrrley wants to find thissss woman too?"

"Yes…very much, big guy…do you have any idea where they went?"

"Croc followed her ssssssscent for a while…Knowsss where they headed for. Can take you there if you want."

"Good…then you can help me find her….and Joker. Because you must have seen my puddin' too, haven't you?"

"No…not have ssssseen the Clown for monthsssss."

"Did you ever see him in these tunnels?"

"Yesssss. He was heading home."

"Home?" "What home, big guy?" Harley asked with a confused look on her face. That statement made even less sense.

Croc shrugged. "Didn't ssssay…just said he wassss heading home."

"Do you know where he was heading? Was it in the same direction the lady went?"

Killer Croc grumbled as he narrowed his eyes as to concentrate. "Yessssss."

"Tell me where did he go Croc…? Please." Harley now was willing to bargain…even beg for some information.

"Hisssss sssscent hassss been gone for long time...but the woman still issss fresh sssomewhat...Follow me…"

"Thank you, Croc…I knew I could count on you."

"Harley is Croc's friend…unlike the Clown, who's nasty, you mean well. Just be careful with the roaches…they can jump on you anytime. So do the mice." The large scaly reptilian said as he started to walk up the tunnel. "And when you find Joker….tell him my debt is paid… Croc is no longer the Clown's friend."

"Okey, dokey." Harley chirped as she grimaced and hurried to get her flashlight that was still against the wall. She shook the long shaft and the flashlight shone back to life and she aimed it towards where she had seen Killer Croc leave. She was very careful of looking around the walls and ceiling. The last thing she needed was to have one of those gigantic sewer roaches falling on top of head.

* * *

Hope you like it...Please let me know what you guys think...Reviews welcome...as well as criticism which is taken kindly... 


	34. Negotiations

**Author's Note:** _Hello friends. Here is another chapter for your enjoyment. Hope it is of your liking. Like always...please feel free to leave a piece of your minds...I love listening to the audience, they always have interesting things to say...and I don't mind criticism. That said...enjoy.._

Disclaimer 1: Batman and related characters are owned by DC COMICS

Disclaimer 2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Viewer discretion is advised

**CHAPTER 3****4****: NEGOTIATIONS**

"Hey Boss, look at this," said Jamie, one of the few Leopards that had remained free as he sat in the common room watching the television set along half a dozen of Terrence's gang members. He personally had lost all hope of seeing his comrades again; even seeing Charley, the Grand Leopard Boss and the news of their release had taken him by surprise. It was a happy surprise.

Joker appeared from his office in a long sleeve nicely pressed purple shirt with a white collar and an undone bright green tie around his neck. He was walking slowly, fixing the white cuffs of his shirt neatly over his pale wrists and one of his hands was bandaged with what looked like a green handkerchief. His eyes seemed devoid of any emotion despite his large grin, and his ever smiling face showing a slight degree of withdrawal. Joker massaged his bandaged hand, wincing slightly while he looked into the tiny screen.

His pasty white face seemed to glow under the ceiling lights, especially against the solid dark purple shirt and the bright green tie fitting loosely around his neck. He stood silently behind the men sitting on the sofa, Michael followed close behind him. "They are letting our boys go, boss. Like you promised," Jamie said noticing the Clown Prince among them. Joker remained silent looking at the television while the reporter finished the news on the release of the Brenton gang.

"I know that face, sir," said Blip to the Clown Prince. "What's going on in your head?"

"The Bat is not going to just sit and watch me get away." Joker lifted a suspicious eyebrow.

"You have a plan, I presume?"

"I always have a plan, Blip. That's why I'm a criminal mastermind." Joker eyed Garibaldi evilly; his permanent smile stretching even wider. "I'm dying to have some real deadly fun tonight, Blip. Call Charley…I have need of her special talents."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman entered the Mayor's office producing total silence. Harvey Bullock and Detective Montoya stood together by the bookshelves in the far end of the office. Nightwing was reclining by the window, looking absentmindedly to the outside. The city looked quiet from the Mayor's office, oblivious as of the drama behind the city's Commissioner disappearance.

The news of the Mayor willing to bargain with the Joker to save the Commissioner's life did not take anybody by surprise. Not even Batman. James Gordon was a respected member of the city's police department and they would do anything on their reach to guarantee the safe return of the Commissioner even if it meant bargaining with the Joker. The Department had broadcasted the news a few times an hour, in all the local stations as well as the national networks, just to make sure Joker would not miss the announcement. The Mayor himself wanted to coordinate the exchange to guarantee the Commissioner's safety but if Bruce was right in his assumption, Joker was not planning on honoring the bargain at all.

That meant that after the deal had been set, time was of the essence in trying to locate the Clown's hideout and a matter of speed in taking Gordon out of there as soon as he had the coordinates when the Joker tried to transmit to the hand held unit. Batman had a plan and the League was willing to help. They had the two fastest men on earth: Superman and the Flash and with their help he might have a chance of retrieving Gordon before any harm could be done. Unfortunately, the first thing he needed to do was to find out where Joker was hiding, then arrest the Joker and Garibaldi, together. Michael would be much easier to persuade to reveal the Commissioner's location than the Clown and the League will be able to complete the rescue. If they only knew for sure that the Commissioner was still alive…and how much time they had to accomplish the recovery…

"The deadline set by the Joker is about to expire, you think he heard the news last night?" asked the Mayor who had started to pace nervously the office while looking at his watch. "We made sure it was broadcasted in all Mayor television stations so he couldn't miss it."

"He heard the news. He's just making this as dramatic as he can," said Batman gravely with the LCD firmly in his hands. He really could not wait to see the Joker's face in the tiny screen once more. It will give him a signal he would be able to trace and locate…revealing the location of the elusive Clown. He was determined to bring him down one way or the other but he needed for the Joker to make the first move.

"He's not going to exchange the Commissioner. His too big a fish to let go, just like that," interjected Bullock who had walked over to the large window in the office and stood by Nightwing. "I'm sorry for his daughter but t'is not gonna happen." The phone rang and everybody looked around. Not many people had the direct number to the mayor's office, but Commissioner Gordon was one of them. This might be the call they were waiting for.

"Mayor Stratton here… oh… we were worried….of course." The Mayor clicked a button on his speaker phone. "You're on."

"Good day to you my busy Gotham city officials and local fauna," Joker's voice echoed through the speaker phone. "Sorry for the delay but it took me some time to find out where you boys were hanging out and about."

"Cut to the chase, Joker," yelled Bullock.

"Detective Bullshit…don't rush me." Joker giggled. "Holidays are just a few days away…but I can always make an early delivery." Detective Bullock grumbled something from where he was standing. "Now let's see…are you in my naughty list or my nice one…I think you just made the naughty, Harvey. I feel sorry for you."

Bullock murmured something else that sounded more like growl, as he walked away from the phone's vicinity.

"If you were so eager to find us, why didn't you use the screen you gave us?" The Batman asked.

"Oh yes, the screen…," Joker said very slowly at the same time that the handheld LCD shorted out and started to smoke in Batman's hand. The Caped Crusader cursed softly. "You really didn't think I would use that again after you probably bugged the equipment to track the signal, did you? Its only purpose was to show you that Gordon was alive…I have no further use for it now except annoying the hell out of you. I know how you think Bats, and no, I'm happier in the backstage, thank you."

"Stage fright, Joker…? Didn't know you were chicken." Snapped Nightwing.

"Oh, no, no, no. Not chicken….clown, dumbass. And I can't perform until I'm ready. First rule of acting...you know?" The clown giggled over the phone. "And I'm gonna be ready when some more people die…what you think, Dumbwing…should I start with Gordon?"

"Mr. Joker, please," interjected the Mayor with obvious concern. "We had a deal. The city has bowed to your demands up to this moment and we ask that you keep your side of the bargain."

"And both the man in your office with the Bat costume and the kid in the crow suit are annoying me. I'm losing my patience with both. Bats…you have the negotiating skills of a watermelon, and my pet cobra is more intelligent that you Dumbwing so shut the fuck up and leave this to the professionals."

Batman remained silent, resting his hands against the Mayor's desk and glaring hatefully at the phone. There was a long silence until the Clown Prince spoke again.

"But I'm a good sport…I will overlook your insolence if you just apologize."

"You must be kidding me…" The Detective said as he looked around incredulously.

Everybody in the office looked at him with great interest. Batman straightened up and the cape fell down over his shoulders wrapping him in a veil of absolute darkness.

"Come on…it's not that hard once you start…say it…Its only two words."

"Joker…" Batman snarled.

"I'm waiting, Batsy…" There was a long pause…"Ok, I had it… I'm snuffing Gordon right now. Come here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy…."

"I'm…sorry." Batman hissed between clenched teeth.

"What…can't hear you?"

"Don't push your luck, Joker." Nightwing said.

"Oh…shut up Dumbwing; go play in your bat-crib…Did he just apologize, Stratton?" The Clown asked with a joyfully between giggles.

"He just did."

"He did and I missed it…? Say it again Bats…please…for Gordon…he didn't hear it either."

There was a short pause. "I'm … sorry."

"Well…what do you know…Mamma Bat taught you some manners, eh Batsy?" There was a short lived burst of laughter over the intercom. "Ok…we can now finish what we started …"

"The terms of the delivery, Joker," said Batman in a somber voice, after reminded he was not calling the shots.

"You're such a spoilsport, Bats. I wonder how boring you are in you other identity. Do you live by yourself in a mountain or a cave…? Doh! Of course you live in a cave. You must be one of those multimillionaire playboys with no social life….and you only come alive when you fight a genius like me…admit it. I'm the reason you exist…I know you are mine." Joker chuckled softly. "Anyways, don't you wanna speak to Gordy first, you know, to make sure he's OK?"

There were a few whispered words and a slight commotion in the background over the phone. "Batman… the Mayor… can't trust…" Then the phone went dead.

"Joker, no!" Mayor Stratton yelled with obvious concern.

"What perverse game is he trying to play?" asked Officer Montoya. Then the phone rang again. The Mayor answered and put the speaker phone on.

"My deepest apologies gentlemen but Mr. Gordon here doesn't seem to be in the mood to talk in the phone." There were muffling noises in the background. "Is he still breathing...?" There was a mumble in the background. "Why...? Because he looks kind of blue…Oh good, his color is coming back. Well, I hope it was enough to convince the Bat on steroids that the Commish is still among the living."

"That better be true, Joker"

"Oh, he is coming around now…he's gonna be fine." Someone coughed on the background. The Jester let out a loud cackle. "Oh Gordon…you even looked good while you were turning blue…maybe I should make you keep that hue of purplish blue in your face…definitely your color." The Jester started to laugh frantically over the phone.

"How do you want the delivery done, Joker," asked Mayor Stratton.

"Simple enough," the Jester answered between giggles. "You got about two dozen of my men, put them in a van and drive them to the piers. I don't want to see any patrol cars, choppers, bats, or men in tights nearby or I'll become trigger happy with Gordy here, is that clear? Are you listening, Bats? I don't want to see any of your Superfriends around…well maybe that Amazon chick….what's her name…? She's quite a sight for sore eyes. I wonder if she'd be as pretty when she's dead…"

"We hear you nice and clear, Mr. Joker." The Mayor said staring momentarily at the dark cowled figure in the office. Batman stood silently against the Mayor's desk, with a somber frown, and his muscles tensed up like a spring. "Where in the piers do you want us to do the drop?"

"There's an old warehouse on the northern end, very old and abandoned with a big number thirteen on the doors. I hope you're not the superstitious type" Joker giggled. "You drop them there, they go in and you leave. I shall take it from there."

"What about Gordon, Joker?" Batman asked trying to control the anger in his voice. "When are you going to release the Commissioner?"

"I have to inspect the merchandise first, old friend. If not damaged, you get your Commissioner in one piece; you try to double cross me, and I'm delivering Gordon in several tiny boxes. Capice?"

"You and I need to talk."

"I know, but I'm a little busy at the moment. If you want to give me the number to the Batcave maybe I can call you later tonight and reminisce old days." Joker giggled.

"You're a coward." Nightwing roared

"Look who's talking, someone who hides behind a mask and beats the crap out of people. When I was in school, Bat-boys, we called guys like you bullies, and I know how to deal with bullies." Batman clenched his fists. "Well that's all for today. Now don't be late, because I'm in a hurry. You have two and a half hours to complete the delivery or I'll be sending this cop to the morgue in a manila envelope. Ta, ta." Joker hung up and there was silence.

"Well, you heard the Clown, people," said Mayor Stratton, "move now and let's get this show running. Gordon is counting on all of us and this Joker is not giving us much time for anything."

"No he has not….he has everything planned to a tee… and way in advance it seems." Batman said softly so only Nightwing could hear him. "He is not leaving anything to random…like he used to. Time we play his game…while we try to play ours too."

Nightwing nodded and followed the Dark Knight as he left the office. This was the only chance they will have of intercepting the Joker directly…and the Batman had obviously developed a plan.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker was looking at the Commissioner with intense loathe. Gordon could almost feel the temperature in the room drop several degrees, by just looking at him. This was scary, even for the commissioner, but he had never seen the Joker with such a dark, sulked look. He knew that there was something going on in the clown's mind, something dark and evil that would reach its climax when the bodies start to pile so high they will be too numerous to count. The smile carved on his face just gave him and even more evil veneer. The Joker put a hand on his face and started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just thinking of a few dead people I know."

The Clown laughed loud as he walked towards the bound commissioner with long bouncy strides. He motioned his men in the room to leave them alone. The two thugs left hastily and Joker stared to the Commissioner and started to giggle nervously. The Jester leaned over and ran a hand along the ripped suit and up Gordon's neck reaching finally the face that showed splotches of red, white and green on its surface. "And then there is you of course…wearing the colors of Father Christmas all over your face….right in the middle of the Holidays. Ready to celebrate the Christmas, Sunshine? Did you send Santa your list?"

"You're out of your mind."

"No, not yet…but getting there." The Clown Prince smiled innocently. "Did you like my color grenade, Gordon? Part of my new arsenal…just what this city needs to change that dark, gothic look. This city is so gloomy... The color of the grenade sinks deep into your epidermis…like a tattoo, you know?"" The Clown grinned. "Wait until I lace the paint with some of my Joker venom…I'll have everybody laughing to death while caroling. Jingle Bells, Batman Smells…Robin laid an egg…Buahahahahahhaaa!" The Clown started to laugh hysterically.

"You got what you wanted; why don't you finish this."

Joker's laughter suddenly stopped. "Don't understand…"

"Come on, you never intended to exchange me, Joker. So why don't you just kill me and get it over with."

"Kill you… now that's a thought that has crossed our minds," Joker said gravely as he pulled his gun and aimed at Commissioner Gordon's face with a widened smile. "Gordy, the clown hates you but I don't have anything against you, believe me. This is strictly business. Just think of the headlines: JOKER KILLS ANOTHER COP or even better: CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER KILLED BY MURDEROUS LUNATIC. Not funny anymore. With me, it happens all the time and the joke becomes dull, wears off."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"A new joke routine…something no one has seen before. When one reinvents himself over and over again, one has to come up with fresh new ways of doing things, so today I've decided you get to see your daughter one more time…Unless you have a death wish, in which case the Clown and I will be more than happy to oblige." Joker put the gun against Gordon's temple and bowed slightly. "So what would it be, Gordon?"

"I'm not going to beg for my life if that's what you want, Joker." Gordon said as he glared at the Clown Prince.

"And I don't expect you to...you're too proud. But you have a daughter to think about and who knows, maybe you can marry for a third time. What do they say, third's the charm?" The Clown giggled maliciously. "Just don't forget to send me an invitation to the wedding…I'll bring the cocktails…" Joker busted in hysterical laughter again. "The Molotov Cocktails that is…"

"You're sick."

"And you're old." Joker giggled as he put his gun back in his holster and looked at the commissioner with eyes that almost read pity. "But why don't you retire, Gordon? Live happily with your pension and just forget about us? Don't you think you've lost enough in the line of duty already? Let me be, Commissioner. It's a lot healthier for you and your loved ones, and I promise to bring your town tons of fun and mayhem with or without you around."

"Someone has to stand up against you."

Joker pointed a slender gloved finger at the Commissioner and let out at disgusted snort.

"Gordon, stop playing at being a hero. You are not a threat, not even a bad itch in my behind; you're only a tired old man, in a dark city, with a dark clown who has forgotten how to laugh so please do what others have done and just look the other way. This is my city, and if you can't play by my rules, well, there's no reason for you to stick around, is it?" Joker's large smile turned into a grimace. He clasped his hands behind him and started to pace the room.

"Your city…This city belongs to the people that live here. You have no control over anything; not this city, not our lives…heck…you don't even have control over your own mind…"

Joker snorted disgustingly as he started to pace slowly in front of the Commissioner, his arms now folded over his chest. The Jester stopped and looked at his feet, as he balanced himself playfully.

"You silly little pig…don't you realize this city is terrified of me? They hear me laugh and they shit on their pants, because they know what I'm capable of. I control their very lives because I control their fears…" Joker laughed softly. "I do a much better job than Crane does, don't you think? At least my death toll is higher and that just adds to whole drama." The Jester lifted his head to look at Gordon.

"I wasn't always like this, Gordon…I had a life. Maybe not one you would approve…but a life nonetheless. I was in love…I was going to be a father…I was free, in a literal sense. There was no Clown. Then I lost all that and my world crumbled. Yes, I had done some jobs, for whoever could pay me enough…but you know what happened to me? After my world came down in pieces, killing people turned from being just a paycheck…to becoming a pleasure. It became the only thing that produced any feeling in my cold heart… a sense of pure joy and excitement…and that made the whole difference in my world.

"Pathetic…I know…but Jack and the Joker…they are not that different. The only difference is that Jack hates his life…hates not able to control the clown, not realizing that he is the Clown. Me? I see only the sunny side of life…every time I murder one of you, lower life forms. I understand now…we are one and the same…but bringing back the Jack in me…has also brought too many painful memories…and those I can't deal with. Gordon, my world is crumbling again…I'm losing my sanity for a second time.

"I need to have Jack die…and when he does…this pain is finally gonna go away and I will be able to enjoy what I like most…performing for you and your city. The Joker cannot thrive where there is so much hate and pain…I'm a clown for Heaven's sake! And you know the only way to kill Jack? Kill the monster who destroyed him in the first place…which wears a black cape and cowl…then Joker will be back…to perform again…and we will be one happy circus with me as the ringmaster. That little painful voice in my head will be gone, for good."

"I…feel sorry for you…"

Joker slapped the Commissioner squarely on the face."Gordy, don't give me that bull crap…you could never scope what is inside me and you, like the rest of your city…has never cared what I ever felt as long as I was locked up in a hospital."

The Jester sighed deeply. "I can't change the past …my family is gone…and I can't predict the future, so I can only live my life one day at a time with the cards I'm dealt, and my cards are all Jokers…and these Jokers are wild…craving for some deadly laughter." The Jester started to giggle. "That is all I ask of you, Gordon, allow this clown his only joy...allow me to be happy." Joker chuckled.

"When your joy is hurting other people…I can't allow that."

"Life is such a burden…such a pain…some people are begging to die, like Jack… Others deserve to die…they are totally useless and lack a sense of humor, like you. I just remove them all from the gene pool. No biggie."

"You realize what is it that you're saying…?" Gordon said with a frown. "You're justifying murder."

"It stops being murder the moment it's a service to society…don't you see it, Gordon? I'm doing you a favor and in the process having a good laugh. I'm an artist…I murder in very creative ways…but with the good of society in my agenda…you are so blind, you can't see me for what I truly am."

"Oh, I see you as you truly are…a madman. You are not making any sense…"

"Boss, time to go", announced Tom at the door.

"All right. Coming." Joker walked towards the Commissioner. "Gordon…do you understand our dilemma? Everything I am I owe it to a man dressed up as a Bat. What will happen to the clown when the bat dies…? I hope Jack will die, so I can rule the city, but I don't even know what's gonna happen next. Maybe it will be the best thing that could happen to this city…he never developed a sense of humor and this city is depressing as it is."

Joker came closer to Gordon raised a hand, and slapped the commissioner face again making the Commissioner's glasses fly away to the floor. Gordon's right cheek glowed red and started to swell. Gordon spit some blood and licked his teeth that were now stained red. Joker bit his tongue and started to giggle nervously again. "On the other hand, Gordy, don't believe everything Jack tells you because he has not being himself lately, something's wrong with his head, and I haven't left town yet. Don't plan to…don't want to. This is a stage too big to miss and you have not seen my best performance yet, so I have to deliver to my lovely public. And believe me, after I deliver…I'm gonna kill you, no matter what Jack says. You'll do better as a dead cop…nicely stuffed by my chimney, along with the Bat's head on the wall…I might even put Dumbwing's in the wall too…"

Joker giggled and bent over to pick up the Commissioner's glasses, resting his weight on Gordon's injured leg. The Commissioner protested with a painful moan.

"You wanted a taste of my pain, Gordon? This is your opportunity then…because I have come up with a game you and I can play together. Very funny game, coming from Jack. This is how it goes: Either I find your daughter and finish what I started so many years ago with her, or I will go to Gotham Elementary on Monday and blow up the playground during recess."

Joker twisted the glasses until the whole frame broke in half and he tossed the pieces behind him. The giggling had escalated in pitch and volume. "See if you can handle the impact of your decisions, because I certainly couldn't with mine…See my point now?"

"And if I decide not to choose?"

"No such luck, Gordy…because if you don't voice your opinion, I will assume you chose A…and at this moment…A is looking very attractive. I remember little Barbie… she was kind of sweet and tender…and loved to talk dirty. Ah, yes…and she could really scream…" The Clown started to laugh maliciously as he licked his lips. Gordon glared back furiously, putting tension on the binds that held him to the chair. "You think your daughter can survive a second encounter with me? Let's see if I can reopen some old wounds, maybe open a few new fresh ones…outdo myself. It's gonna be real tough, but I'm a capable murderer..." The Jester started to laugh nervously.

"You know, I've seen licenses and books go out of date…but never seen a librarian expire." Joker laughed evilly. "On the other hand, you can choose the children and save your daughter instead. Just say the word and two hundred children become human confetti and the playground, a big hole on the ground. The attractive side of this one is the sheer numbers…you know how many body parts will be scattered all over the school?"

"You are…a monster…" Gordon growled.

"I take after my dad…God dammed son of a bitch he was. The inspiration…well, that's all my mom's." Joker started to say while chuckling .

"Boss…" Tom said again as he peeked his head through the door. Joker scowled, turned and drew his gun shooting at the man on the head. Blood splattered on the door framed along with what look like some brain matter and the man slid down to the ground.

"Tom, never…interrupt me…when I'm inspired," Joker said with a deep sigh. "Some people are just plain rude, interrupting me when I'm having so much fun. What you think, Gordy? Hell. That felt good though, like…like the old days…" The Jester took a look at his watch. "We'll have to continue this little chat later, Commissioner. In the meantime, forget me not. I have to go and pick up the mail. Think of your choices. I will be back within a few hours to listen to your decision and then we are going to have ourselves a party."

Joker made a reverence and walked over to the exit. "Thomas, if he tries anything funny would you…hm. Forget it, Tom, you're dead." Joker chuckled as he walked over the dead thug and into the hall. Elliot appeared by the door and looked at the Boss and then at Tom's body on the floor. "Well Elliot, congratulations…you've been promoted to babysitting the Commissioner for me. Tommy was doing a lousy job anyways. If Gordon here tries something, beat him to a pulp. I promised a live police Commissioner but never said anything about not bruising the pig. And I almost forgot…clean this mess, would you? Blood on the walls is only pretty when it's fresh and this one has started to dry out. It loses its spontaneity, its magic…The Clown Prince of crime started to giggle as he exited the room.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The piers were deserted.

The police have done a successful job of restricting the access for a whole two miles around the building. From the deteriorated exterior with a very old layer of paint almost completely peeled off and showing a rusted metal armature underneath, and the large grey doors with the number thirteen almost completely faded away, it looked just like another old, empty warehouse in the piers.

The police had tried, since they surrounded the building, to scrutinize the structure using every single heat, and sound detector to analyze the interior of the building without success. The place had obviously been rigged by Garibaldi to reflect any police equipment. The only other indication that Joker had used this site at all was the finding of the five security guards dead, sporting large smiles over pale faces and arranged on the floor to spell the word HA…Joker and his sick joke motifs. The only question that Batman had to answer was why was this location important for the Jester?

Batman had accessed the Bat-computer through the link in the Batmobile and checked the records of ownership of the building. He found out that the structure had belonged to Salvatore Bianco a suspected mobster from the 1950's. Problem was that Bianco was dead, murdered under suspicious circumstances in the 1960's. People pointed their fingers to one of Salvatore's associates; one by the name of Tommy Doyle who later took over Bianco's organization, but the crime was never solved. Several years later, Doyle was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, a known local showgirl, and after long bumpy trial was executed for the murder.

After those events, the most powerful criminal organization in the city crumbled and was dissipated into nothingness. Many of the real states of the mob were divided amongst smaller local gangsters other where just never claimed and abandoned to time, like this warehouse. Could Joker be somehow related to Bianco or maybe Doyle? If he did, the criminal career of the Clown Prince of Crime might have started much earlier than anticipated and would confirm the Detective's theory that the Joker was once associated with the mob before he became the Clown Prince of Crime.

On the other hand, the Joker was an opportunistic and impulsive criminal, and he would seize any chance to take whatever was left over by others before him to satisfy his needs at that moment. It was difficult to elucidate the reason why Joker was using this particular place for the exchange, but the fact that nobody would have suspected that this place was frequented by the Clown Prince of Crime reaffirmed the fact that there was still a lot they needed to know of the Joker before they could put a permanent end to the madness he had unleashed in Gotham after his last escape from the Asylum.

Batman was on the roof top of one of the buildings within the police perimeter, and he had a perfect view of the old warehouse while keeping away from prying eyes, especially Joker's which he knew was probably expecting him nearby. Nightwing was looking through a pair of binoculars directly to the immediate surroundings of the building.

"Nothing is moving. Even the water is dead calm." Nightwing said while surveying the area with his binoculars. Indeed everything was quiet, too quiet. No boats were allowed in the vicinity because of the police perimeter and the only indication of life would be the amount of people that had started to accumulate at the rails of the Gotham Bridge almost two miles away to take a glimpse of what seemed to be massive police mobilization on the area of the Docks. Dick had always hated the crowds of onlookers because sometimes they proposed more of a hassle than a benefit when having this type of operatives, but there was no way of avoiding them because the city around them, was alive, and this type of circumstances where all part of a job. He only hoped that people was intelligent enough and stayed within the perimeter specified by the police. With Joker, any closer could be extremely dangerous.

"Keep your eyes open Dick, Joker can't be that far away," assured Batman, trying to listen with his equipment for any sound coming from the warehouse.

"What makes you think he's still here? He could've just killed the guards before and left. That would make much more sense."

"A hunch really…but he wouldn't use the warehouse if he hadn't already come here and loaded the place with his deadly pranks for when the cops try to raid it and he will be very close to see his handiwork. That's how the Joker thinks."

"So far the Joker is not behaving like he shall either. You sure he's here?"

"Believe me. He is. He's interfering with all the equipment so he has to be nearby…along with Garibaldi. There are some things that will never change."

"Hey, here come the police vans," interrupted Nightwing who was now looking towards the farthest end of the road that led to the warehouse. Down the road two black and white vans, with the GCPD initials rode slowly until it stopped in front of the building. A pair of cops got out from each van and started to unload the Leopard gang one by one from the back, removing handcuffs and leg cuffs. The last one to leave the van was the large and muscled Jake Washington. Batman wished he would have had a chance to have a longer chat with the large man. The mountain man needed to be taught a lesson. Batman touched the temporal surface of his cowl.

"Superman..?"

"I'm in position." The Kryptonian answered over the communicator speaker in Batman's cowl. "There was an emergency in the Middle East and had to divide the team, but I have Diana with me; Green Arrow and Flash are opposite to you and looking at the back of the building and J'onn is already set in position. We should be enough to overpower the Clown and his henchmen."

"You should never underestimate the Clown, Clark. Joker can be very resourceful. I still feel that we could have benefited from Batgirl's presence but she needed to recover from the injuries sustained trying to capture the Leopards."

"None of these guys have any superpowers; it shouldn't be that hard."

"I don't know what Joker has planned, but he is not going to go down nicely. I would need you and the League to be extremely careful. This Joker is playing by no rules."

"Understood. Plan staying the same?"

"Yes. They are unloading the Leopard gang right now, and they will be entering the building any time. We'll allow some time for them to be overconfident and we will stop them as they try to leave the premises. We are not able to use sensors on the building because someone is interrupting the signal, so this has to be played with the help of your lookouts.

"I'll let Oliver and Barry know. We'll be ready, Superman out."

Batman walked over to Nightwing. "Now it is a matter of patience…"

The group of men walked over to the entrance of the building and pushed the door opened sliding quickly to safety. That's all the police saw of them. Once the gang had entered the warehouse, the cops climbed on their vans an abandoned the scene. Batman and Nightwing aimed their equipment at the warehouse one more time, but there were no readings of any life form in the vicinity. Batman knew that was impossible, since they were aiming the sensors at two dozen human beings. The instruments were not malfunctioning, they were been interfered with. The duo had checked them out before setting in position within the perimeter… someone must be intercepting the signal from very close. Joker was nearby enjoying the show….

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Harley had been following Killer Croc of over an hour along the tunnels. He had make turn after turn in what seemed like a labyrinth of tunnels that didn't seem to end. She had never realized the extent of these tunnels until now and the possibilities that Joker could be using one of them as a hideout seem more plausible now than ever.

She thought she knew Joker…but the more she followed Croc into the city bowels, the more she realized that there was still a cloud of mystery around the Clown Prince of Crime. It added to her admiration for the Jester, but it also filled her head with questions. Why wouldn't he tell her more about these tunnels? If indeed there was a place underneath the city where he could hide from the police and the Batman…why didn't he tell her?

She always thought that Joker had his reasons to leave her in Arkham after his escape…she could make up a few excuses for the abandonment, but no for the omission of information like that. Maybe Joker was too busy, trying to stay away from the Police and the Bat as he prepared for the comeback, but why not leave her a clue as to where she could find him, for when she was able to escape the Asylum? Joker had to know by now that she was free…why not giving her a hint of his whereabouts? It just added to the list of questions she wanted to ask the Jester when she finally find him face to face.

"Hey, Big Guy…are we there yet?" The blonde girl asked the large mountain of green in front of her not able to hide her anxiety. Harley sped up the pace, and heard the noise of mice scurrying away during their path.

"Don't know….trace wassssss getting fainter here." Croc stopped momentarily to sniff the air.

"How far did the smell got you?"

"The Subway tracksssss."

"Wow…we connect with the Subway tracks?"

"Yessss." Croc responded crouching on the floor where there was a small opening that lead to another tunnel underneath. The large reptilian creature squeezed with some effort through the opening and Harley hear him hit the floor loudly. "Come…we have little time."

Harley knelt on the floor and pulled herself through the hole on the ground where she was received by a large scaly hand that helped her land on the tunnel. They both walked a few yards when the tunnel abruptly opened to what seemed like a larger open space. Killer Croc jumped into the new space and Harley readily followed him when she noted that the new area was the Subway tracks themselves. The man-monster offered a hand again and she accepted the help.

"Little time for what, Croc?"

"Subway sssspeedsss up through this tunnel every hour or so…not sssafe to be on trackssss when that happens."

"I bet… were you still following her scent this far into the tunnels?"

"Not anymore...but man had left a leather jacket behind…new trail to follow."

"Great…" Harley responded clapping happily as she followed the large mountain of muscle and scales. They continued walking along the tracks, for a long, long time when Killer Croc stopped again. This time he not only sniffed the air, but looked around and started to cross the tracks to the other wall. He continued along the tracks, feeling with his large hand the recesses of the wall and looking above him. He then turned suddenly, his red eyes glowing with the lights reflected from the neon lamps on the walls of the tunnel. He ran over to Harley who was just a few paces behind him and pulled her with him against the wall.

"Killer…what's wrong…?" She asked terrified as the large man-monster stood behind her and pressed himself against the wall. It didn't take long for Harley to realize the sudden reaction of her guide. From the left end of the tunnel she started to hear the rumbling of the approaching subway and that was making the entire tunnel vibrate like an earthquake. She saw the light of the incoming train as it turned into their tunnel and felt Killer Croc slashing with his claws to get a better grip of the wall.

"Go up Harrrrrrley…UP!" Croc yelled as the train passed by them creating a strong vacuum in its path. The gigantic reptile was starting to lose his grip on wall. "HURRY!!!"

Harley was terrified. The subway was making a thunderous roar against the walls of the tunnel and made it feel like it was about to crumble onto itself from the vibration and she could feel the force of the air on the tunnel, trying to suck her off the wall. She knew that Killer Croc was talking but she could not make up the words between the monster's growls and the roaring train.

She was taken by surprise when she felt a large hand pushing her up the wall. It was Croc that had loosened himself from the wall to help Harley climb the wall. She extended a hand and reached up, to the edge of the tunnel above which she grabbed with all her might. Croc let out a loud grunt, then an even louder roar as he pulled away from Harley. She looked behind her to see the reptilian giant fighting to keep his hold on the wall, but his grip didn't last long. Killer Croc dislodged from the wall taking with him part of the masonry, turned around in mid air incredibly fast for his bulk and latched to the train's surface.

"CROC!!!!" Harley screamed desperately, but it was too late. The last segment of the subway roared past her and she was left all by herself as the train started to speed away from her. She saw the gigantic lizard man climbing the last cart precariously as it disappeared down the curving tracks. She was exhausted, alone, and sad. She couldn't believe what had just happened and wondered what had become of Killer Croc. The thought of him dying in the tunnels, crushed under the subway, in order to save her made her feel tiny and insignificant.

.She looked up and realized she was still dangling from the tunnel's edge. Her body told her it was time to quit, but in her mind she knew she had to go on…if not for Joker…at least for Croc. Good old Croc. Harley wiped a furtive tear from her eye against her arm. Finding force in the thought that she would soon find her Puddin' and that Killer Croc will be proud of her carrying on, she pushed herself up into the new tunnel.

Harley stretched her back. It ached probably as a remnant from the fight with Killer Croc and the near death encounter with the subway in the tunnel. She put the pain behind her and straightened her shirt, while she dusted away all the gray debris that covered her hair and shoulders. She undid her ponytail, and shook the mane of golden hair in an effort not only of removing the dirt and dust, but to shake away the sad thoughts that were invading her mind now. This was not a moment to cry, this was a moment for answers, and hers laid somewhere in these deep tunnels. With renewed strength and reset priorities, she started her journey again, just like she started it, alone; to find the answers to the storm of questions in her head.


	35. Deliver us from Evil

**Author's note:**_Well...another week...another chapter... Here is the next installment of this story. I hope it's of your liking. In the meantime, and as like I always do...thank you to all the kind readers. I appreciate you taking your time to read this piece of my imagination...thanks to those that have left their voice heard in reviews...all corrections are taken care of as soon as received, and your positive encouragement is appreciated. Please let me hear you...You all are part of the reason this story exists (the other one is that I have Joker as a roomate...HAHAHAHA!)._

_Disclaimer1: Batman and related characters are owned by DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer2: Some scenes might contain some VIOLENCE, MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Readers be advised._

_Now enjoy..._

**CHAPTER 35: "...DELIVER US FROM EVIL"**

Inside the warehouse the light was dim, and the temperature was markedly higher than outside with an increased humidity, making the atmosphere within the metal structure felt mucky and steamy. There were two large nonfunctional fans on the back of the building. Not much to remove the heat inside, but at least they allowed for some air exchange with the outside. The interior of the warehouse looked almost completely empty, except for piles of old, damp boxes scattered on the corners and two old large metal bins to the right.

The group of Leopards walked deeper into the building until they reached the center of structure. All they could hear were the echo of their own steps against the sandy floor. It was an eerie sensation; the immensity of the building overwhelmed them. Where was the rescue team..?

"So what's up, where's everybody?" Neo asked while looking around the empty surroundings. "Where's the boss?"

"I really don't like this, man," said another Leopard looking around him with obvious concern.

"Thought we 'ere gittin' rescued," interloped another gang member. Jake lifted a hand to the team and advanced a few steps in front of them.

"Hey, Mr. J-man, Charley! Jake yelled to the empty air. "Jokemeister, yo' 'ere, boss?"

"Is the Joker really the Grand Snow Leopard?" A young blonde Leopard asked to 'Mountain man' Washington. "I 'eard stories of the clown in prison, man. He's nuts. I don't like him and I don't like this place either."

"Shut yo' hole, man," Jake said pushing the Leopard forcibly onto the floor. "Nobody should know that. The guy's just a bit odd, OK?"

"That's funny coming from someone who called me a fruitcake once," said a voice from behind them.

Everybody turned around and saw the Joker standing very still in a very dark purple suit, with a green tie and green spats covering his shinny black shoes. His hands were clasped behind him and he was sporting a very large smile on his face. Four of his thugs were with him, two on each side on similar suits and all wearing gas masks.

"Hey, hiya boss, we 'ere worried… what's up with the masks?" Merckle asked eying the receiving committee with suspicion.

"Saving my little stinkers' asses. Don't hate me for what I'm about to do, eh guys?" Joker smile widened. "Please?"

"Hey, if it's 'cause I called you a nut…"The black mountain of a man said stepping in front of the group.

"No wukkas, Jake. Nothing personal. Bye, bye and… Say cheese." Joker covered his nose and mouth and let go of two green balls that landed in the floor among the group of men. The other henchmen did the same and once in the floor all the spheres started to smoke. The two dozen Leopards coughed and fell to the ground one by one. The last one to fall was Jake 'Mountain Man' who before touching the ground gave the Clown Prince a look that could kill. That one will be harder to explain. Maybe Charley would have much better success talking to him. She always did. The gas dissipated quickly and Joker started to move amongst the unconscious Leopards on the floor.

"What are we looking for again , Boss?" One of the Joker's henchmen asked after he removed his mask.

"See if any of these guys is wearing makeup or a mask; is losing its shape or turning to goo… something out of the ordinary."

"Why?"

"This is too easy…don't ask questions and do as I say. When you're done with that, remove all their clothes and toss them into a pile, then take them boys out of here. Time is of the essence…we need to leave the docks quickly, so hurry up!"

"Yessir!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

After the long walk from the subway tracks, the tunnel Harley was walking through came to an end, opening to a large vaulted area. She peeked gingerly from the tunnel into the vast space that seemed empty, when she heard some footsteps approaching close. Harley receded slightly into her tunnel without losing sight of the vaulted space when she saw a man emerging from a smaller tunnel a few yards away, dressed up in a black leather jacket, with a faux leopard collar, smoking a cigarette, and carrying a UZI in his hand. The man started to move towards her tunnel and she slid back in away from view.

There was a momentary silence. The man should have stopped short of her tunnel, Harley thought, while she tried to look back into the vaulted space. She saw the man standing mere feet away from her tunnel, his back turned to her. He took the cigarette and after a deep drag, flicked it to the floor and stepped on it. The man exchanged the hand holding the UZI and pulled a communicator from one of the inner pockets of his jacket.

"The coast is clear in tunnel 23B, Elliott. Can you get someone to relieve me? This is the most boring job that clown could have assigned me…" Harley's ears tuned in at the word clown in the conversation. Could it be that this man knew the Joker? "Nobody knows we are here…so why keep me doing these rounds when he could've made his computer geek build some surveillance system to protect this joint?"

Blip. He had to be speaking of Blip. She felt rejoiced she was on the right track.

"Beats me…you are the one who called him a jerk…consider yourself lucky you still alive to make the patrol so don't screw this up." Elliott's voice came through the communicator loud and clear. Lee snorted disgustingly. "And…there is no one her to relieve you for now until the boss comes back. Joker better not find out that security is lacking in his absence or he's gonna have some heads rolling… yours literally."

"Yeah, yeah…I know. It's just that I'm so fucking bored….there's nothing happening here." The man started to slowly walk away from Harley. "What about the other Leopards…when are they going to be back?"

"Soon, the Boss promised…didn't he?

"You might've worked longer with 'im a long time, Elliott, but I don't trust the Clown. The guy's nuts…heard him talk to 'imself in his office."

"Just do as he says and I promise you, you'll make good money… just don't contradict him and always…always laugh at his jokes, OK?"

"Sure, sure…whatever. Lee out." The man replaced the communicator in his jacket and continued walking down the vault. "Laugh at his jokes…yeah…not easy when the guy is as funny as a doorknob..."

Harley frowned. How could people be so ungrateful to the Joker when he offers them a job and financial fluidity? Joker was funny … in his own twisted way. She will have to tell Puddin' about hiring these people, but first she needed to find out where Joker was spending his nights and that meant first locating the hideout. She followed the man with her eyes until he disappeared through the same small tunnel she had seen him come from. That could be the Joker's hideout, or at least, the entrance. The question now was how she was going to get through security and into the hideout.

She thought that she could just go and introduce herself to the man with the UZI and once he realized she was the Joker's girlfriend, he will personally let her into the lair, but something inside her told her that was not such a good idea. She didn't know this guy, and he didn't know her and before any introductions could be exchanged, the man with the gun can go berserk and start shooting first and asking questions later. He looked like that type of guy...no sense of humor. Too risky.

Harley decided it would require a different approach to the whole situation. She did not carry a real weapon with her, but that didn't mean that she did not come prepared for the unexpected. She went to her police belt and opened some of the small pockets. Where the shackles would have been stored, she had half a dozen of Jokers exploding marble grenades. Good to make a statement, but this was calling for stealthy maneuvers. In another pocket she found some smoke screen tablets, a ping pong ball, sneezing powder, and some other gadgets. She remembered her police baton, customized by her into a taser gun, and after unscrewing the bottom half she was ready for action. She only needed a way of getting the man's attention….and be able to sneak very close to him.

She walked stealthily over to the tunnel and peeked insidel. The man with the gun was now seating on a metal chair against the wall while eating half a sandwich. He had set the UZI on his lap while he eyed a Playboy magazine with great interest. Behind Lee, there was a gray metal door that looked like it had an electronic combination lock in it…Damn it! That was going to be difficult to bypass.

Then suddenly Lee coughed up some of his sandwich. He looked around him gasping for air and as if searching something, rose from the chair and staggered towards the door still coughing and turning a deeper hue of red. He started to press numbers in the keypad by the lock when he stopped.

"Fucking security codes…(koff, koff)…why do they keep changing them every week?" The man said between coughs pulling a small piece of paper from the right pocket of his pants. After looking at the paper for a moment, he continued keying in the code. The door beeped and opened with a soft hiss. Lee replaced the paper in his back pocket and peeked inside sliding quickly and leaving the door open behind him. Could it be that easy? Harley waited for a moment and when she was ready to get to the door, Lee came back drinking a soda. He closed the door behind him and sat back on his chair as he continued eyeing the magazine.

Back to plan A thought Harley as she went down on all fours and started to pant loudly. The man with the UZI dropped the magazine momentarily to listen to the panting, and that is when he heard some barking coming from the vaulted space and the sound of paws echoing on the tunnel.

"What the fuck…?" Lee said setting the magazine down as he rose to walk towards the noise. There was some more panting, more barking and finally some whining and whimpering. "How the hell did that dog get down here?"

Lee held the UZI tightly in his hand and walked slowly towards the location of all that noise. It was odd to hear a dog this deep under the city, it could be a trap, but there were stories of killer crocodiles in the sewers as well, even Joker had seen one according to him…so why not dogs as well. If there were…would they be as dangerous as Joker had said the crocodiles were? Lee continued to advance through the tunnel and when he was about to turn into the vaulted place he was surprised by a cloud of thick black powder that made him start sneezing uncontrollably.

He was forced back a few steps with every sneeze and that is when something grabbed his arm and remove gun out from his hand and he felt a jolt of electricity that made him go into spasms on the floor. He saw sparks in front of his eyes, then streaks of colorful brilliance and then nothing.

Harley looked at the man on the floor for a moment to make sure the man was unconscious. She kicked him softly on the side and he didn't move. That was a good sign. She pulled the man with great effort back into his chair and took his leather jacket from him. After ripping both long sleeves from her police uniform, she slowly tore them into strips she used to tie the hands and feet of the Leopard tightly to the chair. She got out her ping pong ball and with some effort passed one of the strips though making a rudimentary ball gag that she secured on the man's mouth.

Harley searched into the man's pants and found the piece of paper. With great effort she pulled the man's chair and set it against the wall, then walked to the door. She stopped by the keypad and started to enter the code. The door hissed and open. After checking to make sure there was no one else in the vicinity, she slid in.

Harley closed the door firmly behind her, and took a good look at the place. There was a large green sofa, a TV set and small table on the right corner with what looked like a whole deck of cards on its surface. It looked like someone's unfinished poke game. She definitely had never seen this place before…but she could see that it was well equipped with anything people will need for a long stay. In the left corner of the room, Harley noticed a small refrigerator and some opened bags of chips as well as some sandwich wrappings on a table by the fridge.

There seemed to be a large room towards the back with large darkened windows, occupying what could be the center of the room. In the small space of white wall, there was some graphitti. A large spotted Happy Face. Harley walked cautiously towards the room that she noticed that the door was slightly open. She pushed the door gently and saw the large mahogany desk with the two carved jesters in each leg. Harley smiled of joy…this must be Joker's office. She continued to walk into the office and noted the computer screens on his table and the small Jack in the Box in the corner…She remembered the Jack in a Box….she had one identical, that Joker gave her for her birthday. Well, the truth is that she had bought one just like that on her birthday after the Jester told her she could go and get whatever she wanted…Harley giggled childishly as she walked towards the mahogany desk.

On her way in, she noticed the red velvety armchair on the right. On top of the chair were some clothes, women clothes. Harley walked slowly over to the clothes and held a petite black glittery leopard print shirt on her hands. What were those garments doing in the Joker's office? She felt heart sink in her chest. She looked around and noticed more pieces of clothing lying on the floor including some stockings and a pair of high healed leather boots neatly set by the chair.

She tossed the shirt angrily on the floor. Killer Croc's words came back and hit her like a sledgehammer. There was another woman searching for the Joker…a beautiful brunette, with looks that could kill, whom the Joker had invited to meet here…for what? She walked around the desk and sat at the luxurious black leather chair. She couldn't take her eyes off the women's clothes scattered in front of her.

Beside her she saw a white tie hanging from a perch, from which a black Humphrey Bogart hat hung as well. Two jackets hung from the wall; one dark brown and other navy blue. These were not Joker's regular color scheme, but judging from the style, they would fit a man of Joker's height comfortably. Was this Joker's new attire? Where were his purple tux, his yellow shirt and his turquoise vest…? She put her hands over the desk when she noticed the small dried puddle of blood on the center or the reddish surface, and the bloodied letter opener beside it. What had happened in this room?

She looked around the desk for clues as to explain what had transpired in this room in the last weeks. What she had seen so far was confusing and to a certain point alarming. Who was the woman that felt so comfortable of relieving her clothes like this? Was Joker here while the woman undressed, and if he was…what was he doing? Did he enjoy it? And why did Joker changed his dressing code? Did this woman have a say on the Joker's new style of clothing and if so…how much more influence she had on the Clown Prince?

Harley couldn't take it anymore. In her mind, the questions and the images of things that she thought might have happened started flashing like a movie in front of her. A movie she didn't want to see. She put her elbows on the table, held her head between her hands, and shook her head. In the process, she hit the keyboard and the screen image of the Joker appeared on all three large computer screens smiling maliciously at her. She looked away. She didn't want to see his face, but more importantly she didn't want to be seen like this by him. Her eyes had filled with tears and she had turned red as a lobster. She was really upset, but she had her pride.

Harley tried to occupy her mind in other thoughts and she started to explore the multiple compartments on the desk. She opened a drawer under the desk, noticing a small black notebook, with the cover all battered and torn, lying neatly on a corner. She opened the cover and immediately recognized the Jester's handwriting. She pulled out the notebook and started to read. The handwriting started as a jumble of thoughts, thrown at random into the page along with small doodles covering the corners, mostly of bats and birds. Every word seemed to be written in a different style font, almost as if they were written by different people and even the style and syntax varied between thoughts. Then the writing became more organized, more proportional, and the sentences started to make sense…

_God….had this been a trip or what? How long will I be able to be coherent is a mystery even to me…but it will be long enough for me to see the Bat die. I can still hear Joker in the back of my head…reminding me of who I have become…reminding me of jokes I am suppose to be laughing at, but that are not funny anymore. Have I lost my sense of humor? Maybe…but death in my world is not a joke, but my job, so when the Clown starts joking about murder…I really don't see it…_

Harley read some more and one more passage caught her attention.

_Today I remembered my mother…had forgotten how blue her eyes were, like the sky, and how beautiful her smile was. I miss her... until she started going to the hospital, then the smile was erased from her face and she became hateful... I hate hospitals. I hate what they made of her. _

_ARRGH! I don't want to remember this pain, this was not part of the deal, Joker…I hate my life…it's not fun…just kill the bat…and all the sorrow will be gone…KILL THE BAT…have to KILL the Bat. Laugh, laugh some more clown…Let the joy fill you…KILL…DESTROY...OBLITERATE...and don't forget to laugh...It's a lot of fun._

A few pages later there was still some more…

_I'm so lonely…I'm the only one that feels this horrendous hole in my chest…like someone ripped my heart out…I want to die. No…not die…I want to make everybody feel my pain…YES! It will be hilarious…the greatest joke. Suffer as much as I suffer and in their suffering, I will relieve this load within me with their dying breath..._

_I'm laughing at your pain, Gotham…laughing until you all die-- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-- _(Abruptly interrupted entry).

One paragraph below, same date entry…she continued.

_Time to plan a new crime spree like they have not seen in ages, Joker style, because I'm here to stay. It has to include cherry pies, and whipped cream…I like cherry pies. The cherries need to be sweet and gooey...just like brains splattered on a wall. Murder just sparks my creativity…and makes me hungry. Yum! Let me think this one out for a while…in the meantime I can dream of all the people that are going to die when they hear the news of the big mushroom cloud that will envelop Gotham. Mass murder while on vacation, brings a smile to my face and since I smile all the time, so I should kill all the time...It's so envigorating__…_

_That's gonna be one to watch…like Bette Midler's song…from a distance. HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!_

Harley closed the notebook. This was too heavy for her. Those words written in dark blue ink were full of strong emotions, of pain and sorrow. Was this what Joker was feeling? Was it true that Joker could not see the humor in his own crimes? She knew the Jester well…at least she thought so until she discovered this place, but she could only explain Joker's change in his behavioral pattern as a result of a severe trauma, but what? And she couldn't shake the idea of the woman that seems to be part of Joker's life now. Was she the catalyst of the transformation? She needed to find out and if she needed to find a way to reach the Clown Prince of Crime, somehow she had to ease that pain…

Harley lifted her eyes and saw a shadow walking outside the office, large almost seven feet tall, and was moving fast towards the main room. It must be the other henchman in the liar. She closed the notebook and put it inside one of the pockets of the Leopard jacket she was wearing. She had to leave and leave fast. Once that man finds about the one tied up by the door, all was going to fall down like an avalanche on top of her.

She rose from the chair and walked gingerly to the door peeking timidly outside to make sure the coast was clear. No one was visible and she stepped out when she heard the click of a cocked gun behind her.

"Don't make a move, Missy." She heard Elliott's voice say firmly. Harley turned around slowly and looked at the towering man who aimed his automatic to that space between her eyes. "…and start praying."

She forced a smile and waved at the man who did not seemed amused by the gesture. "Hi Elliott…long time no see."

That voice…

"Ms. Quinn?" Elliot said taking a better look at the intruder's blonde hair, baby blue eyes and sweet smile. She was smiling…why?

"In the flesh…missed me?" Harley said sheepishly wiggling her fingers.

"I… I don't think you should be here. How did you get in…?"

"How else, silly…used the door." Harley giggled. "What you mean I shouldn't be here…? And where is my Jokey Pooh?"

"He is…working on a mission. You left Lee unconscious, didn't you?" Harley looked down. She had been caught sneaking into the hideout.

"Sowy Elly," Harley clasped her hands beside her and tried to look as innocent as she could. A childish smile beamed on her face. "…but the guy had an attitude problem…"

"You shouldn't have done that Harley…the Boss is not gonna be happy." Elliott was still aiming the gun at her.

"I know… and I said I was sorry an' …are you gonna shoot me? 'Cuz I'm disarmed, Elliott…and the Boss is not gonna like that either, you know?"

"Personally, I don't think the Boss will care…" Elliot said matter-of-factly. Harley's eyes narrowed with resentment. "You shouldn't have come…It would have been better for you."

"Why Elliott…because there is another person taking my place at Joker's side now?" Even the thug could feel the anger behind that statement.

"You…know?"

"The brunette? Yes, I know. Who is she, Elliott?"

"Charley? She's the Joker's Lieutenant. She leads the Panthers or Leopards or whatever that gang is called."

"A lieutenant? That's all…you sure?"

"Harley…I'm sorry…but you're not welcomed here anymore…"

"And who said that…. Charley?" She couldn't hide the resentment in her voice.

"Joker…things are different here now…"

"I see." Harley said softly lowering her face sadly. "There is no space for little sweet Harley Quinn any more, is that it?"

Elliott lowered his gun a few inches. "Look, Harley. You are a good gal and I really don't wanna do this…so I'll cut you a deal. If you just leave now, I won't tell Joker you were here. Just leave, please."

"Elliott…what happened to my puddin'?"

"Don't ask…long story that even I don't understand with this new sanity crap, but he doesn't want you 'round no more. Come on, Harley…you are an intelligent girl…you have a future on your own. Don't make me do this…just leave."

Harley cocked her head. "Sanity? I don't understand…and how're you gonna explain Lee?"

Elliott's gun dropped a few more inches. "Leave that to me…go now…"

"You're a good man, Elliott."

The thug shook his head. "Don't say that…look who I'm working for…But you…you are and all around nice girl."

"Thanks, Elliott, but I'm sorry to disappoint you…" Harley said softly tossing a few of the smoke screen capsules that after hitting the floor produced a cloud of smoke so thick that visibility was almost completely nil.

"SHIT, HARLEY…WHY YOU'VE TO MAKE THIS DIFFICULT!!" Elliott yelled as he aimed and shot twice to the thick mass of smoke in front of him…and fired two more shots to his left. He then felt a deep pain in his groin that radiated to the base of his skull, his sight tunneled, everything turned a dark shade of black and he couldn't concentrate on anything but his testicles that he felt had crush against his groin. Elliott dropped the gun and held that space between his legs in his cupped hands as he fell to the floor in pain, holding his breath.

Something hit him flat on the face, and Elliot fell on his back a few feet behind him moaning painfully. He let out an angry grunt, and still wincing from the pain started to rise from the floor when something hit him on the upper back, like a lightning bolt making him loose control of his body and lose consciousness.

Elliott stopped jerking on the floor and the smoke had begun to dissipate already from the room. Beside the thug, Harley stood proudly with her homemade taser still sparking in her hand.

"…I'm not gonna play nice any more, Elliott…I'm tired of playing nice." She started to head out to the exit when she heard a voice that sounded more like a whimper coming from behind Joker's office. There was someone else in this place, someone that sounded in distress. Harley really wanted to leave, but she needed to find out who was calling out for help.

She picked up Elliott's gun and left the thug on the floor as she headed back to the origin of the voice. She passed Joker's office and continued to the back of a room that extended a few more meters. She noted this was where Elliott had come from moments before. At the end of the room, there was an open door and some stairs that led down. She followed the stairs, Elliott's gun held tight o her hand and she reached the poorly lit basement cautiously. What she found made her heart skip a bit.

Tied to a chair was an old man, on his late fifties, his face swollen, sweaty, and covered in a splash of red green and white, and what looked like blood caked on his chin and moustache. The white hair and the bloody moustache looked disheveled and dirty as the rest of his clothes that were ripped on the left side exposing a blackened chest. His right leg was badly injured, with what looked like a gunshot to the knee, and dried blood covered his leg down his pants. The man slowly lifted his face to look at Harley, and the slow motion movement denoted great effort. The man coughed once.

"Please….help….me." The voice came like that of a ghost trying to reach the realm of a living: hoarse, tired, and weak. Harley had heard that voice before not one but many times before, but she remembered that voice as robust and full of energy, strong and commanding from a man who always looked younger than he really was. This man was not even the shadow of the man she remembered and looked ancient, exhausted.

"Commissioner Gordon…?"

"Who…who are you?" The old man said to a whisper as he tried to focus his eyes on her.

"Harley…Harley Quinn. You remember me?" She said coming closer to the old man so he could have a better look. Without his glasses, the Commissioner had to squint to be able to see anything. Gordon responded to the voice by straightening on the chair and fighting his binds with renewed strength.

"Get away from me…he sent you, didn't he? So you can have your fun too… Don't come any closer."

Harley knelt in front of him and spoke in a soft almost childish voice extending one timid hand to touch Gordon's face. "Hey…calm down Commissioner. I'm not here to harm you…I swear."

"GO AWAY! What else would you be doing here…and I said get away from me!"

"You have to believe me. I have no reason to lie. Did he …did he do this?" Gordon tensed on the chair at her touch. Harley ran a tender hand along his face and cleaned a little blood from his chin. The Commissioner reacted in pain. "I don't understand…it's not funny…"

"What?"

"What he did to you…it's not funny…It's mean and hateful. A man your age…beaten up like this?

"Forget funny, he's nuts…has completely lost his mind."

"Gordon..." Harley smiled softly. "…he's always been a little cuckoo. It's his trademark…you know that, but this is…this is…not like him."

"The things he has done…the things he said…Harley, wake up…this clown is not just cuckoo…he's totally insane and extremely dangerous."

"There is something wrong with my Jokey Pooh…that is for sure, Commish. He wouldn't have done this to you if there wasn't something happening to him…I think I know what it is… and I'm gonna fix it."

"Harley…no. You-"

Harley pressed a hand on the Commissioner's lips. "Shhh. First…I have to get you out of here…and fast. Elliot is not gonna be too happy when he wakes up." Harley started to undo the binds on Gordon's wrists. "I don't think I can carry you…you think that if I help you…you'll be able to walk?"

Gordon nodded silently while Harley released his legs from the chair. Harley held the Commissioner's hand and pulled him to his feet. He wobbled on his feet, trying to find a posture where he would not feel the pain, when he's legs gave up and he fell to the floor, hitting the linoleum with his injured leg that had started to bleed again. Gordon screamed in pain as he sat on the floor, his head pressed against the cold surface, trying to ease and let go of the electrifying pain that now ran all along his leg and up his spine to the base of his skull.

Harley knelt down on the floor and ripped a strip from the Commissioner's pants and tried to apply a little of pressure over the bleeding knee. Gordon winced in pain as she worked on the makeshift bandage.

"Now Commish, you have to do this very cautiously." Harley said holding Gordon tenderly in her arms and encouraging him to get up again. "No need to be greedy. Just take my hand and support yourself on your good leg."

"The Joker will be back any moment..?"

"I know…that is why we need to leave now."

"Why are you doing this, Harley…isn't it better to get the Commissioner of Police out of the way?"

"Not this way, Gordy. My puddin' has lost his calling…he's confused. Hurting you this bad is not…funny anymore…can't have my Jokey Pooh make a mistake he will later regret." She said with a smile while she forced the Commissioner up to his feet and steadied him with her hand.

"You don't understand. He was enjoying it. This is not the same Joker you have dealt with before."

"What makes you think I don'tt know Joker, Gordy? I was his psychiatrist for a while, remember?"

"He drove you insane."

"No, I chose to follow his path…I chose to leave my life at his side."

Gordon looked at her silently. The Commissioner had always thought that the murderous clown had seduced the innocence of a young, ambitious psychiatrist to satisfy his own perverse needs. He never expected for Dr. Quinzel to confess that turning into the Harley Quinn was a matter of choice. Joker was out of his mind, might not control himself, but this confession made Harley even guiltier of her crimes…and why did she confess? Joker was not the only one changed around here, this woman was different as well. Harley started undoing the ropes on Gordon's hand

"You what? How could you…?"

"Joker is more than you allow yourself to see, Gordy. He has many layers, and he is really a lot of fun, once you start peeling those layers…until you find the scared child in the middle of those layers."

"Stop fantasizing, Harley. There is no child anywhere. For your own good…get away from him."

"He needs help, Commish. Didn't he tell you that this was not him, that he felt guilt and that he felt pain? Didn't you hear him calling for help?"

In Gordon's mind the only thing he could hear was the Clown's crazy laughter as he spoke of death and mayhem. Could it be possible that between guffaws, the Joker had tried to tell him something? He had offered to help, but the Jester refused the help openly…or did he just ask for help in a totally different way? Gordon held tightly to Harley and moved slowly, hopping around on the leg that didn't hurt. He ran an arm around the girl's shoulder and steadied himself. With Harley's help he started to head towards the stairs.

"Harley…"

"That's it Gordy…you can do it." Harley said patting the old man softly on the hand over her shoulder. "You will be out of here in no time and we can talk some more. OK?"

* * *

There you have it friends...TBC 


	36. The Delivery

_**Author's Note:** Hello...to all the friends following this story. Thanks for your support. Another Chapter is brought to you for your entertainment so please enjoy and feel free to let me know how you like it._

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer 2: Some chapters will include MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Reader's discretion is adviced_

**CHAPTER 36: THE DELIVERY**

Batman was becoming impatient. The Joker's crew had been inside the building for almost twenty minutes and nothing had happened. What was going on inside that warehouse? He checked his infrared scopes without even getting a signal. He also got a report from Green Arrow and Flash that the coast was clear…literally; nobody had entered or left the warehouse through any of the known entrances. Batman requested a second report five minutes after that…with the same results. It had taken too long. He heard a commotion towards the southern end of the pier and saw the police at the edge of the perimeter piling over to look at the water.

"There is a boat leaving the pier," said Nightwing pointing the binoculars in the direction of the commotion. "It's too far away but I can see a whole bunch of people in leather jackets in the boat and one of them is wearing a purple suit, green hair, white clown face…that has to be Joker. He's waving at the cops."

"Joker…I knew he was around, but apparently he also decided to join the show."

"And the Clown just mooned the cops…" said Nightwing not able to hide his surprise through his scope. "Whoa! That's what I call a white ass…"

"Joker has to make a comedy of everything he does. This is the end of his show. Clark..?"

"We see them…preparing to intercept."

"The League can take care of the Joker and the Leopards. Dick, follow me to the warehouse. We need to find out any leads left by Joker on the Commissioner's whereabouts."

"But the building could be booby-trapped, besides, we can ask Joker personally in a moment."

"It probably is, but Joker would probably have left a trace as to where he's keeping Gordon. We need to find that hint and act on it fast; because getting the information from Joker is going to be a nightmare. I want the Commissioner alive and I can't wait until the Clown decides to talk. I don't know what other surprises Joker left behind…so just be careful." Batman fired his bat-grappler and swung down to the ground level and Nightwing followed closer. Around the warehouse, cops started to gather, and leading them was Lieutenant Bullock.

"Did you see that? The nerve of that clown…we had to let them go, though. You understand?"

"Yes I do, but don't worry detective, that Clown's trip is going to be a short one." said Batman solemnly. "We need to get in the warehouse."

"The bomb squad will be here any minute."

"There could be time sensitive evidence inside, we can't wait." Batman said focused as he walked to the warehouse's entrance.

"But…," Bullock tried to speak when both Batman and Nightwing started to walk towards the building

"Just keep your men away from the building until the bomb squad clears it." Batman said loudly as he and Nightwing walked over to the main doors and pushed them slightly to open them. They slowly slipped through and scanned the area with their sensors. Like before, the sensors didn't show any heat or living signals in the vicinity. The warehouse was empty and Batman wanted to know how did Joker escaped surveillance to reach the boat in the pier and escape with the Leopards?

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

That would be our cue, ready?" Superman said ascending slowly to the air.

Wonder woman nodded and followed him in flight. "Joker is not going to know what hit him."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the boat, the Leopards were laughing loud and congratulating each other on a successful mission when they saw two figures approaching them from the air. A third figure was moving at very high speed, like red lighting, over the water heading towards them as well. One of the leopards tapped the Clown leader on the shoulder.

"Boss, we have a problem…actually three problems coming our way."

The Clown in the purple tuxedo turned around to see the trio of superheroes. He smiled maliciously as he fumbled on the inner pockets of his jacket.

"I can't believe they are trying to intercept us…don't they know we still have Gordon? Fools. The show's not over, boys…it's time for act two." The Clown produced from his jacket two small black boxes with nine smaller red buttons on top of each, and aimed them at the flying heroes. He pressed the first three buttons of each box and there were six loud explosions at the base of the Gotham Bridge. Two more explosions followed those while the Clown smiled maliciously at the two upcoming heroes who had stopped in mid air to watch the bridge.

The two main support pillars of the hanging bridge started to produce a dark grey smoke that started to drift towards the Docks. On top of the bridge, panic had grasped the bystanders and the people that had accumulated to watch the operative at the Docks, were now screaming and running crazily all over the place, while the normal traffic was trying to do their best to avoid hitting them.

The Clown noted that Wonder Woman and the Man of Steel where still hovering over the water but drifting closer. He pressed three more buttons on the controls and six cables from the bridge blew up, and disconnected from the suspended structure. The bridge started swaying dangerously at the middle section of the structure

"Great Hera, does he know what he's doing?" Wonder woman said horrified.

"Yes, he does. He's making us choose between them and the people on the bridge." The Man of Steel said frowning angrily. "And he knows which one we're going to choose…Diana, see what you can do to stabilize the structure. Flash, run over and try to save as much people out as you can."

"What about you?" Diana asked hovering away in the direction of the bridge.

"I'll be right behind you, but I'm finishing this first …" Superman said solemnly staring at the Clown on the boat, who was now dancing mockingly at him. As Wonder Woman flew away, and the Flash passed the by the boat like a red bullet towards the bridge, the Man of Steel flew a few feet closer to the boat and narrowed his eyes focusing on the purple figure. The Clown let out a growl as he started to feel both controls getting warm in his hands. "This has gone too far, Joker."

"Oh, no, no. I'm only beginning, Super Asshole!" The Clown said pressing the remainder of buttons on the controls. More steel cables exploded and detached from the structure making the bridge swayed even more. Superman focused harder and the floor of the boat started to melt, quickly making water. The Leopards on board started cussing, and in a united effort, tried to scoop water out of the boat as fast as they could. The Clown flung the controls at the Man of Steel who caught them in midair, crushed them in his hands and tossed them into the water.

"I'll be dealing with you later Joker, in the meantime…have a good swim. The Coast Guard will meet with you in a moment." Superman said flying like a speeding bullet towards the bridge. The Clown riposted lifting both hands high in the air and pulling both middle fingers towards the Kryptonian as he flew away. The water was already reaching the clown's ankles as the boat began to sink.

"What are we going to do now, Boss?" One of the Leopards cried nervously making a pause in what looked like a lost cause in trying to save the boat.

"Grr…I REALLY hate that man," the Clown growled stomping on the boat that shook violently and started to cant slowly to the right.

"Don't do that, Boss. Please!!" The Leopards pleaded nervously at unison. The water kept getting higher and the boat was now almost leveled with the water.

"Time for act three…I hope…" said the Clown climbing on top of the boat's edge. "…and here's out taxi… like promised."

From the boat's stern the Leopards and its Clown leader saw a small metal rod emerging from the water. The metal rod was followed by a dark wet platform. The Clown was the first to jump from the sinking boat and onto the platform, where a small hatch opened revealing Garibaldi's smiling spectacled face.  
"Am I too late?" Blip said exiting out through the hatch to stand on the platform, holding the door open. "Sorry, but you know how difficult it is to drive one of these things?'

"Shut the fuck up and take us out of here, four eyes. BOYS!!!" The Clown yelled to the crew still on the boat that was now almost completely underwater now. The Jester waved agitatedly towards the mini submersible. "LET'S GO!!"

Garibaldi glared at the Clown and soughed. "Go down and all the way to the end of the corridor… this thing is not designed to carry this much people."

"But you'll make this work, right? I don't want to drown…"

Blip nodded. "Don't worry, your Highness. It's safe. Just do as I say and everything is going to be just fine."

The Clown entered first through the hatch and disappeared inside what was now obviously recognizable as a small submersible. The rest of the crew jumped off the sunken vessel and onto the sub's platform and followed the Clown into the submarine. Once all the crew members where inside, Blip stepped inside, an noticed two coast guard boats heading his way at full speed. He waved an effusive hand at the upcoming officers, sank into the submersible and closed the hatch behind him. The submarine quickly disappeared underneath the water as the Coast Guard boats started arriving to the site of the sinking boat.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the meantime, the situation on the bridge had become critical. The main support of the bridge have been weakened by the explosions on the pillars but the detachment of the main support cables of the structure made the bridge to swing backwards and forwards along its long axis, at the mercy of the shifting weights on top of the bridge.

Flash was moving as fast as he could though the middle lane, trying to get people out of harms way from the traffic and the dangerous motions of the structure, and that was obviously taking a toll in the man behind the red mask for he had to stop momentarily to catch his breath. More people on their terror had walked over the bridge's edge and threw themselves into the frigid waters of the Gotham River. That was suicide during this time of the year, when the waters temperature hardly reached temperatures above freezing. Flash was able to save a lot of people, but he was just one man and the numbers of victims was starting to become just overwhelming, most of them wandering aimlessly along the lanes, and he could only do so much by himself. He was reaching exhaustion.

Wonder Woman had tried to help stabilize the structural support of the bridge, but she couldn't do it alone. While she could help, pushing against the large structure under one of the large supporting pillars, there was another unstable pillar that will counteract all her efforts. On top of that, the pillars were useless elements if she couldn't reattach the uncoupled cables to the structure. In summary, she will need Superman's help if she was to save the bridge from collapse. In the meantime, she decided to direct her efforts to other more efficient goals and started trying to get people off the bridge two at a time as fast as she could, but she lacked the stamina or the speed of the Man of Steel, and her strength has started to dwindle.

She felt a slight tremor on the surface of the bridge and she thought that the whole structure had started falling down when in the sky above, against the shining Gothamite sun, she saw the large, muscular figure of Superman holding in his powerful hands some of the steel cables from the bridge. Diana soughed deeply in relief and flew towards the caped Kryptonian who by now had disappeared at the edge of the bridge

"Anything I can do to help?"

"The Police and the Fire Department are sending effectives as we speak and I just called the Justice League reserve and they will be here anytime to continue helping with the victims." The Man of Steel made a pause as he rearranged the steel cables in his hands that had started to slip. "In the meantime, can you hold these while I try to reattach them to the bridge? I have only two hands and one pair of eyes…"

"What did you do to Joker and his men?" Diana said extending her hands to grab a few of the steel cables in her hands, they were heavy.

"I had to stop them from going away, so used my heat vision to make a hole on the boat. The Coast Guard should be picking them up right now. Keep the tension on the cables, Diana, please."

Superman kept two of the steel cables and moved slowly to the edge of the bridge pulling one of the cables forcefully against the floor bringing the steel cable in contact with the coupling element on the floor. The force exerted by the Man of Steel was tremendous; Diana could feel the bridge fighting against his pull. Superman focused his eyes on the coupling and the metal started to melt under his stare. It was magnificent to see the Kryptonian's heat vision in action, welding the steel elements together to hold the bridge in one piece.

"There has to be a faster way… there's like ten of these cables that need to be reattached."

"I understand…but until…reinforcement…arrives..." Superman was using his heat vision at its maximum power and that was requiring a lot of effort. "…well have…to do…what we can." The Man of Steel finished welding the second steel cable. "Hope that holds long enough, next cable please…"

Diana handed another cable to Superman as she pulled on the rest of them in her hand when she noted that the bridge had stopped moving, and in fact it looked very stable now. The Man of Steel started to weld the next cable when Wonder Woman looked around and noted a green glowing pillar situated in the middle of the suspended span of the bridge.

"Clark, I think that reinforcements are here already…Green lantern must be supporting the bridge."

Superman stopped what he was doing to look at the Amazon Princess. "John is in the Middle East, Diana. He's halfway around the world… I don't think he would have made it that fast."

"Well, look for yourself…" Wonder Woman motioned to the green pillar. Superman looked at the strange structure with disbelief. He flew higher over the bridge to see the origin of the green pillar when he saw a Caucasian man in Green lantern uniform on the other side of the structure wielding the Green Lantern ring towards the bridge. From the effort that the man was putting on creating the artificial support, Superman could see that the man was sweating. He only knew of a man with enough will power to generate the so much needed support for the whole structure.

"Hal?" Superman said loudly. Then Green Lantern looked momentarily at the Kryptonian and forced a smile at the same time he waved his other hand. He quickly concentrated back into his ring.

"I can't believe it," said the Amazon Princess now floating in the air by the Man of Steel. "I thought Hal was in Oa setting the Green Lantern Corps."

"Aparently not, and I'm glad. Come on Diana; let's finish reattaching these cables before our luck runs out." Superman and Diana went back down to the side metal brackets and continue with their labor.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

She had been working on the manhole's lock now close to ten minutes. This was a complicated lock to which she had no combination. Joker's security had really tightened up since she had previously remembered, and she needed to open this latch soon before Elliott and that nasty Lee came searching for them. She took a moment to look down the stairs where she was standing while working on the lid's lock to see Commissioner Gordon, sitting on the floor leaning against the curved wall of the tunnel in an effort to avoid putting any pressure on the injured leg. He had his arms folded on his chest and he looked cold and sweaty. She noticed he had a chill.

"You OK down there, Gordy?" She said returning to his manipulations of the electronic lock. Gordon didn't answer, and Harley looked back down. "Commissioner?"

"I…I'm OK-K." The police officer answered softly without looking at her. He had another chill.

"We'll be out of here in no time…I promise." She said trying to keep up with the conversation. The Commissioner remained silent.

"It's OK. It's j-just…that it's v-very c-cold in here." Gordon said as he started to shiver. The truth was not only that his body felt all a sudden very cold, like an iceberg, but that Harley's attitude had him still confused. Her words made no sense at the same time there were obviously rational. She always defended the Clown, justify his actions, but what was she gaining from saving him from Joker, when he knew that the moment Joker found out she had helped him escape, the Clown was going to lash his frustration on her.

Harley, on the other hand, had not really noticed the coldness of the tunnels since she was wearing the thick lined Leopard jacket, but the air was a little nippy. She slid down from the stairs and walked towards the old man. Gordon's grey eyes were very red and swollen and there were pearls of sweat covering his forehead. She ran hand to his head, and the Commissioner reacted by instinct brushing her hand off and pushing himself away. Harley held his hand in hers…He was indeed very cold. She touched his forehead again against Gordon's protests, and in contrast he felt very warm. Gordon had started to shatter his teeth.

"Don't t-t-touch me…p-please. It hurts." Gordon pushed her away.

"Commissioner…I think you are running a fever." She said removing the Leopard jacket and wrapping him on it. "Here…put this on and stay calm…I will take you out of here and get you to a hospital."

"I...I still d-don't understand…why d-do you worry about me?" Gordon said with a puzzled look on his face.

"I told you…this shouldn't have happened." Harley went up the stairs and continued working on the lock. "My puddin' is sick…not acting sensibly."

"Joker is insane, Harley. When are you going to understand that?" Gordon accommodated the Leopard jacket tightly around him. He felt something hard against his chest and with his hand he pulled a black and battered notebook from the inner pocket. He started sifting through the pages, but seeing, as well as reading anything in the dim light of the tunnel of the tunnel was close to impossible, especially without his glasses. "He doesn't c-care for anybody, or anything…not even y-you, and when he finds out you helped me out…y-you are going to be his next t-target."

"He can't harm me more than he has in the past." Harley said sadly, her words trembling under her voice. "But, he needs me still."

"Harley, he d-doesn't love y-you."

She remained silent for a moment while she turned a lever in the internal mechanism of the lock. She then let out a sigh that sounded more like a defeated statement. She opened her mouth for a moment without uttering sound for a moment, and finally, she spoke. "I know…"

"You know?" Gordon said trying to find a place with enough light to illuminate the notebook. Once he found a place he brought the pages very close to his eyes. "Then why do you keep coming back to him?"

Harley sighed. "I thought I could change him…but he doesn't want to change…He likes to be the way he is, and likes what he does."

"We have told you that more than once…you never wanted to listen."

"I got closer than any of you did, Gordy. I was literally in his mind, and once in there, it's like a drug. You want more of that freedom … the chaos that relieves you from the burden of daily order. The interminable joy. His laughter. It was contagious…like influenza. Then in one of the sessions, I saw his heart…for a brief moment I had a glance of what Joker really is. Thought I could reach that cold heart again…and warm it up."

"His joys come from murdering people, Harley. He loves to abuse people, make them suffer."

Harley with great effort pressed a button on the lock. "Gordon, your people has never understood him. Everything he had ever loved is dead…his mother, his wife, his son…his life after his scarring. He was not too stable to begin with, but losing everything finally devastated him. He thought that feeling was a worthless effort, because every time he allowed himself to feel, it only brought pain. So he stopped feeling."

"Harley you can't stop feeling."

"You don't understand human behavior like I do, Gordy. You can shun all feelings from your existence, and when you do, you will end up feeling apathy for the world. People around you lose their value, become lifeless puppets. Life itself becomes worthless. The only thing with any meaning is the I, the me, the ID. Add anger and a very short fuse to the mix, and you end up with a sociopath."

"And that explains why he enjoys murdering people…"

"No, that explains why he is addicted to laughter…Everybody wants to feel better, to be happy. It's a natural tendency shared by all human beings. He wants that little bit of happiness life denied him. But how do you feel happiness, when nothing around you has any meaning? You twist reality to produce that happiness that you long for in any way possible, even if you have to create a new reality. Gordy, why do you laugh when somebody falls to the floor…? Isn't that kind of twisted? It's not funny, but still you laugh…the mind works in mysterious ways. So why would it be so different to find fun in murder?"

"You…you came up with this theory?"

Harley looked at the Commissioner and scratched the back of her head. "Yeah. Crazy, ain't it?"

"But, why do you come back for him? You have feelings for him, do you?"

She remained silent for a moment trying to answer that very same question herself. This quest to find the Jester has taken her this far, and for what? It was obvious Joker didn't want her around, that is the reason why he had left at the hospital, because she wasn't important for him anymore. Any way she tried to scientifically explain that, she came to the same conclusion…she had feelings for the Jester

"He is suffering, Gordon. Suffering terribly and the only way he knows how to stop the pain is laughter. He has to regain his joy and lose the pain…and only I can reach him before your people send him back to the asylum. They don't want to help him there, nobody wants to help him. If I find him, I will be able to help him."

"He doesn't want to be helped…you said it yourself."

"You don't understand…he doesn't want to be anything but Joker, but now…he is something else. Someone who is deeply troubled and in pain, with a lot of anger boiling inside him. If he doesn't let go of that part of him, he is even more dangerous than Joker alone."

"How could he be worse than what he is…?

"Even Joker has his boundaries…rules by which he plays. If you take away those rules away …you are going to end with a more destructive, more resentful person. Anger will take away the rules. Joker loves to play, but what he did to you…was not a game…he wanted to see you hurting. That was not Joker."

"Jack…" Gordon said fixing his eyes into Harley's. She looked at him quizzically. "That was Jack…"

"Who is Jack?"

"That other side of Joker….how do you know these things..?"

"I was his psychiatrist, Gordy. I know everything about him."

"And you never answered that question…you have feelings for him, don't you? I still can't believe you chose to follow him."

Harley stood and walked up the ladder.

"You don't know what it's like to be free. You live bound by a code you follow day by day. Doesn't life turns into a routine? Where is the randomness, the chaos, the basic feelings that also make us who we are?" She started to climb up and continued working on the lid. "Once you drink from that cup, it is difficult to let go."

"Everything in due measure Harley…" Gordon said as he patted the notebook in his hand. He accommodated the jacket and looked for a well lit area. He opened the notebook randomly and placed the pages very close to his face...and he started to read.

"_One of the Leopards asked me for help today to move a heavy piece of equipment. I did… and when the boy was looking underneath…I let go of it. His skull made a wet sound as it crushed under the weight. Why did I do it? Because I thought it was funny. But I… I couldn't laugh. _

_Inside me…there is this vacuum, in the middle of my chest. I had a heart once…but it died a long time ago. I'm now so empty, so insignificant. Nobody cares about me…they only care for the Clown, because he can really make a statement and his statements fill my soul with so much joy. I'm tired of suffering. I will do anything to be happy once more, even for an instant, and I'm happy when somebody dies._

_I envy that Jester. I envy him so much that I don't wanna be me anymore, I just wanna be him. Now…and forever._

_Please help me die… help me lose myself in his insanity and leave this world that doesn't understand nor cares about me. He knows how to have fun, how to laugh. That he kills people? Please, people die every day so what is the big deal if I want to send some home early. As long as the Jester and me are happy and well fed…everything is worth a smile…_

"Commissioner?" Gordon was surprised by Harley's voice and he jumped back putting weight on his injured leg forcing him to shut his eyes in agonizing pain. She held him firmly and when Gordon opened his eyes again he saw a pair of sapphire blue eyes looking tenderly at him. "You, OK?"

"Harley...w-what is t-this?" The Commissioner asked presenting her with the notebook in his hand.

The blonde woman looked at the notebook and her eyes glistened with tears. She extended a hand trying to get a hold of the notebook, but Gordon pushed her hand away. "That is nothing, Gordy. Can I have it back?"

"Who w-wrote this?"

"You read it…you know."

"B-But I want you to t-tell me…"

Harley sighed. "It wasn't me if that's what you think. Joker wrote it. That's his diary." Gordon tried to talk when she went on. "I know what you want to ask next, and I found it in his office. He's not going to be happy when he finds out somebody took it. Can I have it back now, sir?"

She aimed for the diary once more, and Gordon pushed her away.

"This is evidence…"

"Of what…of his sanity…or his pain…?

"Let a court decide that."

Harley pressed on the injured leg, making the Commissioner moan painfully and she got a chance to fetch the notebook from the cop's hand. She put the notebook away in one of the pockets of her pants.

"Sorry, but the courts will not understand…so let me deal with that. You just need to concentrate on getting to a hospital when you get out there." Harley said motioning to the lid of the manhole that Gordon noticed was open now. "I don't think you can go up the ladder with a leg like that, so I need you to hold on to me very tightly. Can you do that?"

Gordon nodded silently as Harley helped him on his feet. She guided him gently until they stepped under the manhole and by the ladder. He wrapped his arm over her shoulder and they started to climb up one rung at a time allowing time for the Commissioner to rest and hold his footing on the ladder. Once at the top, Harley held the Commissioner close to her.

"Gordon, we both can't fit through, so I'm gonna go out first and help you. You stay here and be patient…it is just gonna be a moment. OK?"

The Commissioner nodded again and held tightly to the ladder standing on one of the rungs with his good leg, while he let his injured leg dangle from the ladder. As long as he didn't try to put weight on that leg the pain was not unbearable, just a discomfort that he could easily tolerate and with some effort forget about even if it was for an instant. Harley rushed out the manhole and disappeared for a moment from view. Gordon heard a pair of voices outside, and recognized one of them as Harley's. The exchange of words was quick and choppy and Harley reappeared through the opening extending a hand to the old cop.

The Commissioner extended a hand and clasped it firmly on Harley's wrist. The blonde woman did the same thing and held tight. Another face, this one of a young man with a goatee and more piercings than Gordon could count popped besides hers extending a hand to him.

"It's OK, Gordy. This is Leo and he's gonna help me get you out. Hold on tight." Gordon obeyed and held tightly to the man's hand. Between the two, they pulled out the old cop with great effort and pulled him through the manhole. The Commissioner had used the remnants of his energy to help them in their task, so he let himself on the cold pavement. Gordon was obviously exhausted by the effort and just laid there on his stomach, panting. The young man stared at the man on the floor and then to Harley with a bewildered look on his face. Definitely pulling people from manholes was not something he was used to do. Harley went to the manhole and put her arm against the edge. The lid closed back with a hiss, confirming it had pressurized.

"Who are you? And who is he?" The man finally spoke in a loud sharp squeaking voice.

"This would be the Commissioner of Police James Gordon and he needs an ambulance. You have a cell phone?" Harley asked while looking over the cop on the floor. The man nodded while some of his piercings twitched. "What are you waiting for…call an ambulance!"

The man dialed 911 as a reflex and asked for an ambulance. Harley leaned over to the Commissioner's ear.

"Everything's gonna be fine. I promise Gordy. Don't you worry, OK?"  
"Harley…" said Gordon to a whisper. "…you gotta…"

"Shh don't talk." Harley accommodated the jacket over the Commissioner. "I have to go

now…have things to do…Leo is gonna stay with you, right?"

The pierced man looked at her with eyes filled with terror. She smiled and he smiled back nervously nodding gently.

"Good. See you later. And thanks, Leo." The blonde girl said giving Leo a big kiss on his cheek and disappearing among the darkness of the alley. Gordon turned around and tried to say something but he just managed to wince in pain.

"Please sir…stay still." The pierced man pleaded putting a reassuring hand over the Commissioner's back. Gordon let himself against the floor once more. The alley was in no time inundated in bright blue, red and white flashing lights. From between the bright lights from the patrol cars and ambulance, black silhouettes emerged running in direction of the fallen cop.

"FREEZE!" Yelled the cops with their weapons aimed at the pierced young man by the Commissioner.

"I'm innocent I swear. I am…I was just helping the Commissioner,"

"ON THE FLOOR…HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD…NOW!" More cops yelled as a pair of men rushed in towards them with a stretcher. A group of officers pulled the man to the floor while the paramedics started working on the Old Commissioner.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Everything inside the warehouse was quiet …too quiet... In all his previous dealings with the Joker, Batman had learned to expect the unexpected from the Clown and now what he didn't expect was all this silence and stillness. Joker was surprising him again with his unusual behavior. By now there should have been a few explosions and something ridiculous and deadly directed at him, but nothing inside the structure ever moved or made a noise.

There were two or three large storage bins and containers inside the structure toward one of the corners; it was dark and somewhat difficult to say for sure. On the left hand side, there were a group of about twenty boxes stacked high enough to make a small wall, and from the looks of it, neither the boxes nor the bins nearby had been touched in a few decades. The team moved deeper into the warehouse. Inside they saw a large pile made from the Leopards' leather outfits.

"Well, the tracking devices looked like a good idea at the time, but so much for plan A now." said Nightwing moving closer to the clothes. "Those guys on the boat must've been a decoy." Behind the pile a small box was standing alone on the floor with a playing card neatly set face down on top of the box. Batman motioned Nightwing to stay away as he walked over to the box, but Nightwing ignored the warning, quickly walked over, and slowly lifted the card by himself. After a quick examination of the card from all angles, Dick handed it to the Dark Knight.

"I don't understand, Batman…an Ace of spades? It should have been a Joker, no? What do you think it means?"

"It means I always have an ace up my sleeve, Dumb-wing." A voice said from behind one of the large storage bins. Both costumed heroes turned to see the Joker emerging from behind the large bin in his black suit, smoking blithely a cigar.

"You… here?" Nightwing said getting ready for a fight.

"No, I'm still…there!" Joker said faking a surprise look and pointing behind him from where he had emerged. "Really, Bats, where are you getting these kids from? They are not exactly the brightest of the bunch. Maybe you should return this one and get your money back or maybe just exchange them for…I don't know…a toaster?"

The Clown Prince tossed six small metallic bats transmitters on the floor. Batman recognized the small transmitters that he had sneaked on some of the Leopard gang members in the hope of tracking down Joker when he picked up his crew in an effort to track Clown if he had managed to escape.

The Clown outsmarted him again and that made the Caped Detective highly uncomfortable. Batman looked at the small transmitters on the floor for a moment then stared at the Joker with a frown. Joker was smiling, holding his cigar between his teeth but the Dark Detective's stare just made the Clown smile even wider. "By the way, I think those belong to you. Your tricks are getting old, Bats, and you're becoming too predictable for your own good."

TBC

* * *


	37. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**_ Hello to all my friends reading this...ehem...little fic. Normally I don't dedicate this chapters to anybody in particular, but in this case I want to dedicate this one to all my critics. Yes...you out there who had seen my mistakes and had pinpoint them to me so I can become betterwriter. You know who you are...your names are all over the reviews and I thank both the signing as well as the anonymous... The list is long so i don't want to leave anybody behind, but know that your critics/reviews are deeply appreciated and that measures are taken as soon as possible to fix the typos or the blunders. Thanks for keeping me on my toes... The best thing of this...everybody can become a critic, because I welcome well intentioned criticism. Just leave your piece of mind in a review and VOILA! Well, now that dedications are out of the way...let's go on with the story but first..._

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC Comics_

_Disclaimer 2: There will be intances of MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Be warned_

_Now...ENJOY!_

**Chapter37: THE MEETING**

"You are risking a lot by staying behind, Joker." Batman said.

"And I did it all for you chum," The Jester chirped, dragging on his cigar while smiling sardonically to the dynamic duo. "You should be more appreciative of what I'm willing to do for you, friend…even to guarantee our privacy…"

Joker produced a slender dynamite cylinder and lighted the fuse with his cigar. He let go of the explosive and it fell between the duo and him. Batman and Nightwing stepped back, exchanging looks as the fuse was consumed.

"B-Batman…should we…? Nightwing asked nervously.

"Look at him," Batman said almost to a whisper, motioning to the statuesque figure of the Clown Prince in front of him. "This has to be one of his jokes."

"No, not a joke," responded the Jester while chewing his cigar. "Just a test of balls and yours are in the right place, but your sidekick…He stinks the place. Better check his diaper, Bats." Joker fanned a gloved hand in front of his nose.

Nightwing frowned. The fuse was quickly consumed and disappeared with a soft hiss. Behind them, by the main entrance, a loud explosion rumbled and lifted some dust that filled the storage unit creating a soft haze.

"And you wanted to talk about…? "The Jester piped flicking the ash from his cigar.

"You know very well what I want to talk about. Where's the Commissioner?"

Joker checked frantically on the pockets of his jacket. "I know I had him around here somewhere…I swear. Maybe I just left him home."

"JOKER!!" Batman growled.

"What? You don't like my sense of humor? It's fun to joke around you because you're always so stiff…but unfortunately my sense of humor is not what it used to be…" The Jester said forcing his lips down in sadness.

"Because of your insane obsession with fun, there's a lot of people dead."

"What can I say…It's my gift." The Clown said with a smug shrug.

"Was the people at the arena part of the show too, Clown?" Nightwing spat back furiously.

"Now…don't blame those on me. If people can't follow orders and leave in a single file when there is an emergency.

"You knew this was going to happen, Joker." Batman growled.

The Jester giggled childishly. "As a matter of fact I did, but with only ninety six dead…I must be losing my touch…"

"You murderous son of a bitch…" Nightwing said advancing menacingly towards Joker, who quickly started to back off to keep his distance. The Jester inconspicuously tossed a handful of marbles on the floor and Nightwing tripped on them falling hard on the ground.

"Watch where you step, m'lad." The Joker said starting to laugh. "Next time it might explode."

Batman glided quickly over the floor and grabbed the Clown Prince by the neck pinning him forcefully against the metal bin. The Joker's cigar fell on the floor and disappeared under some boxes.

"Hey! Watch it….this is a linen shirt…GACK!!!" Joker chirped as the Batman tightened his grip on the Jester's neck.

"You are not funny, Joker…Where is Gordon…?"

"Neither are you…Bat-sap." The Joker said almost gasping for air. "And if you don't unhand me…I'm snuffing… the Commissioner." The Detective pressed the Clown Prince harder against the bin, and it was becoming really difficult for him to breathe. The Jester tried to frantically get loose of the asphyxiating grip and started to run a hand along the Knight's arm until he found the elbow. He pressed hard on the joint and was followed by a bright electric spark, that made the Batman let go of the Jester and back off. Joker fell to the floor coughing and laughing hysterically while he showed off the joy buzzer concealed in his glove. "WHAT? DID I SHOCK YA?"

"You can't escape, Joker." Nightwing said. The Joker stopped laughing and frowned as he rose from the floor.

"Doesn't mean I can't have fun trying." The Jester said playfully.

"You don't have anywhere to go." Batman said, still rubbing his arm forcefully from the shock.

"Tend to disagree. I can always go back…or down…and if I drink enough Red Bulls I can even get up because Red Bull gives you wings…" The Clown Prince started to laugh again. "Oh boy, sometimes I kill myself. Well, no more questions for the Master Clown?"

"What are you trying to do, Joker?"

"Put your mind at ease. I've noted you've had some…problems with my case lately. Being….watchamacallit …lagging a little? Maybe you need help…just a thought." The Jester said with a shrug.

"The only one needing help here is you!" Nightwing growled angrily.

"No…actually, for the first time I feel….one with the universe…I'm in control."

"You've never been in control…"

"The Clown was never in control…yes." The Jester said wagging a menacing finger. "Me…I'm a control freak."

"What the hell is that…?" Dick spat with a disgusted grimace.

"You two have not figured this out, have you?" The jester looked at the duo amusingly. "Haven't you noticed I'm not behaving like my clowny self lately…have lost my sense of humor…?I'm not who you think I am, Bats."

Batman stared at the Jester with great interest. Joker had always been out of his mind, confusing murder with a funny joke; finding joy in other people's miseries, but he had never doubted who he was. He always had been the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime and he always boasted about it. What games was this madman playing with them?

"And you are…?"

"The man who has given you hell since this investigation had started. I have been orchestrating this whole thing just to see you stumble in your own logic. Because you couldn't see beyond the Clown, and realize I was capable of doing the impossible…That is something you were not prepared to handle, were you?"

"What's impossible?"

"That for the first time, I'm sane," Joker said jovially puffing in his cigar. "And you…are just a mediocre detective. HA! Smarted out by a clown…aren't you ashamed of yourself, Bats?"

"Sane…" Nightwing said in a mocking tone. Joker nodded placidly.

"And in your sanity you killed all those people at the Arena, Brufford, Trenton and his associates…and you call yourself in control." Batman said trying to remain calm.

"Don't be a cynic, Bats. The people at the Arena were just bait to catch your attention so you leave my new-found feline friends alone, and worked better than I planned. Brufford didn't want to play with me so I have to take him out of the game…and Trenton," Joker chuckled. "Well I had a score to settle with the bastard."

"And the attack on Catwoman at the museum?

"I wasn't there, but from what I heard the Clown had a blast with the Catlady…"

Rage filled the Batman's eyes. Everything turned red and in no time he was on top of the Jester. He biffed the Clown on mid abdomen and connected another fist on the grinning face. Joker fell on the ground panting and bleeding from his mouth. The Clown Prince tired to crawl away when Batman pulled him by his jacket collar and pushed him against the metal bin with a loud bang. He lifted another angry fist at the Grinning Gargoyle.

"Go on, Bats. Do what the Clown wants you to do…lose yourself in your anger. Come on…let me have a taste of your rage…lose your mind in your own violence and prove me that you are as insane as the Joker."

Batman stopped and lowered his hand. He had never heard the Clown speak in the third person, as if he indeed believed he was another individual. There was an explosion on the far end of the storage unit and it was when the Detective discovered the lighted match in the Jester's hand. The Clown had to be controlling the explosions.

"What are you trying to do, Joker?" The detective growled.

"One match a day…keeps the pigs away. That is what my mom always said." The Jester spit some blood on the floor and giggled. "I'm just trying to prove a point…that you and I are kindred souls…"

"I'm nothing like you, Joker…you are a demented psychopath who enjoys killing innocent people."

"And you are a proven sociopath with a fetish for young children, who dresses in tights and goes out at night to beat the hell out of anybody who disagrees on your idea of justice." Joker looked at Nightwing disdainfully and flapped his hands beside him. Batman raised an angry fist, but stopped himself from beating the Clown. Joker showed a joyful face after cowering from the Detective. "And you seem to have followers of this madness…"

"You're talking nonsense…"

"Am I really, Dumbwing? Just look at your mentor consumed in his own rage." The Clown Prince wiped his bloody chin and waved the bloody hand in front to the young man. "Look at all this violence, all this anger boiling deep under that cowl. I can almost smell it…well…once my nose stops bleeding I will…."

The Detective remained calm. The Jester was right when he said that he was allowing his anger take the best of him…could the Clown be also right that he was not different from his murderous enemy?

"You are under arrest, Joker." Batman said simply.

"HA! That's funny, Bats, real funny. I told you are not in control of the situation. I'm directing this musical and it doesn't end with me back in the loony bin." The Jester spat some blood on the ground and cleaned his mouth on his sleeve. "How does it feel to lose everything you hold dear in front with you without being able to do a fucking thing about it…?"

Batman frowned. "Is that what is this all about? Make me suffer? Why, Joker?"

"Because only then you will have a small taste of what you had me suffer. Only when you suffer as much as I suffered…you will get a glimpse of my pain."

"Your pain…? Joker, I don't know what you are talking about?"

"Have you forgotten so quickly what you did to me?" The Joker roared angrily. "You destroyed my life; you turned me into this…this thing called Joker. You killed me, and not happy with that…you went after my family. You killed them leaving me with this large hole in my chest. A hole only my anger and the Clown have been able to fill."

"I didn't kill your family, Joker. You're getting your facts wrong, and what happened on the card company…was an accident. You have to understand that."

"How dare you lie to me so bluntly? I read the police report the day my wife died. People saw the shadow of a gigantic Bat at the scene…How many oversize bats do you know? Nobody could make the connection but me. Doyle sent you to kill her, probably as a revenge for what I did to him…so I will be forced to do his bidding. He hired you to kill her…then to kill me."

Wife? The Joker was married? Batman had seen the murderous clown only as a pest that needed to be contained and he had forgotten he not always looked like a clown from hell, but that he had a normal life before he became the Clown Prince of Crime. What was his life like...? What made him into a murderer like no other in history…?

"I was not working with Doyle. I was trying to take Doyle down."

"Then he used you…like I'm using you now. You know you're a lousy detective when I can have you running amok like a chicken with its head cut off, you know?"

"Joker…"

"Shut up and listen, Bat-sap. You destroyed a part of me that night. It was the only part of me that was worth anything. My wife…the most beautiful, loving woman in the whole world that loved me for what I was…me. There was no Joker, no clown, and no murder because I had her and she tamed the beast that has always lived inside me; the one called Joker. She was the only thing that could keep the murderous Clown at bay. I was in love. I was loved. And that filled my life and made it whole, but what do you know of love when the only thing you do is project your own anger to those around you…because that is the only thing you feel...rage.

"You took her away, and with her, you killed my soul and my life was in pieces. I didn't know what to do, or where to go so I let someone else lead this dance. I gave up my sanity for a chance to forget my pain, a mistake I decided to fix by coming back and destroying the man who destroyed me and made me who I am. Thanks, dad!"

"Where is the joke on this…?"

" JOKE! YOU THINK THIS A JOKE? How dare you call this a joke, you half witted mongoloid crow! Are you deaf or what? This is no joke…this is not funny because I'm in such pain, I can't laugh at my own misery…it's not funny when things happen to you, but I will destroy my misery today, and then everything will be funny again…"

"Joker, believe me…I had nothing to do with your family's death." Batman said advancing a few paces towards the Jester. Joker caught attention and backed off. "You need to stop this violence, it will destroy you, bringing more violence is not going to take your pain away… Don't you want this pain to stop?"

"Oh, ho, ho…it will stop. And you are right…it will bring my destruction. Jack was supposed to be dead a long time ago anyways…so if he dies again…who cares? As long as the reason for his misery is dead too, there will only be space for comedy…Joker's comedy." Joker pointed an angry finger to the Detective. "Is the pain you feel for those I killed for you giving you a glimpse of what you left me feeling inside…can you see the Abyss? Now you understand that I can't live like this… that I have to let the Joker take over, because only he makes me feel better. He makes me forget what I am…what I lost. I want to forget this pain. I want to be Joker again…and I can't until I'm done with you…"

"Joker...stop. I don't want to hurt you."

"I can't stop…never been able to stop…will not stop until I see you take your last breath." Joker said angrily.

"You need some help." Nightwing said.

"Me? I'm not the one who needs Dr. Phil here, boy. Look at you and your daddy…Dressing up like rejects from animal planet to terrorize the poor citizens of this city….shame on you two." The Jester shook his head. "Come on, Bats, who do you think you are…ZORRO?"

Bruce stopped in his tracks. _The Mask of Zorro_ was the movie he went to see with his parents that dreadful night when he lost his family. He remembered…it was raining and in the blink of an eye his entire world came crashing down and he was left empty and lonely. A child with no parents… Was it so different for a man without a wife…she was his family too. The loss of his parents left a hole very difficult to fill. He had had Alfred at the mansion, and his loving care helped ease the pain over the loss. Who did Joker have to help him cope? A murderous clown in his mind? Was all this violence the product of evil or just the frustration of a man who could not handle his pain? What would have been of the Batman, if Bruce would have been the one who could not control his pain? Would he be too different from Joker?

"You know what's the funniest thing about this, Bats?" The Jester said with a large toothy smile on his face. "You and I…are so much alike…we are almost like twins. We are both driven by our demons. Yours makes you build this anger to fight this useless crusade against crime in the hope that saving the lives of all these people you can redeem yourself of the guilt of your own loss, which is due to the fact that you couldn't do anything to save them. Me? Well, I let Joker take control over my life to make me forget the pain of my loss with his humor, as sick as it is. His crazy laughter helps me ease the burden of my guilt for all the things I've done in my life, which I have to admit…have not been pretty.

"Deep inside I've used my very own brand of anger to make everybody pay for my pain, because only when I share my pain like that, I feel much better with myself. I rejoice on making others more miserable than me…because I hate to be alone when I'm this depressed…" Joker giggled maliciously. "Gordon found that out the hard way."

Batman advanced toward the Jester when another explosion high above in the mezzanine caught his attention. In the Joker's hand another match was lit. The Clown flicked the match to the ground.

"I am addicted to make others pay for my pain, and humor makes me forget my miseries. Does the man under the cowl forget his when he's wearing the cape, Batman? Does your inner child forget about his pain when he dons the black costume?"

Nightwing advanced rapidly, taking momentum to pounce on the Grinning Gargoyle when the Jester waved a menacing hand in front of him. Nightwing stopped. "I'm not done yet, Nightingale. There is still you, at your young age, filled with the same pain and the same rage…Batman found a kindred spirit in his misery, and thinking that he could share his pain asked you to join his useless crusade. Instead, you two made your miseries even bigger, heavier and divided. That is why I don't see you around much, is it?"

"Tell me something, my avenging Crow. How did your anger start? Your high school sweetheart left you...maybe someone killed her? You felt the pain, like me…" Joker's voice broke almost imperceptibly. "…when I lost her. Did that give you the right to dress up like a gothic finch and beat people up in the name of justice? Life has not been fair to you, eh Dumbwing? Anger is such a powerful weapon…talk to the Clown about it…"

"Joker, listen to me." Batman said sternly as he passed by a dumbfounded Nightwing. He realized that he was no longer talking to an insane man but a man in a great deal of pain. Could it be true that Joker had recovered his sanity? Could he appeal to that new-found sanity to stop these violence? "You are right…anger is a powerful weapon, but don't you think of what your wife would think if she saw you now. Would she approve or would she ask you to stop?"

"Nice try, Bats. But she is dead…and with her died the only thing that could keep the murderous Clown away. The only thing left is the pain…and I don't handle pain well…makes me want to share it with even a larger number of people…and this city is soon gonna be too small for my pain, because in a few days…the entire world will know about my pain. I will have to do by seeing you die for now."

"I…want to help you…"

"And I want to kill you…." The Joker said giggling…"And then I want to kill everybody in the phonebook, in very…funny…ways. Make a circus of this city, maybe then, the pain will stop…"

Batman couldn't make up his mind. Was this a sane Joker tormented by his loss, and his conscience, or was this just a man that was completely lost in the realms of his own little world, where murder, joy, pain, were all the same hollow feeling? The Jester was not ranting aimlessly in his discourse, but his obsession with violence and murder had escalated even beyond Joker's standards. Joker killed if it was funny, this man was willing to kill without restraints, without motif, only to spill blood for his own satisfaction.

"Then tell me this…how did you become this angry?" The Jester went on. "Did someone kill your wife too? No…your Zorro impersonation is something only a child would come up with. Someone killed your parents and you are the last of your lineage…a dying breed. The sorrow of your loss made you go insane, dress up like a flying rodent to terrorize the criminal world that terrorized you when you were a kid.

"I did the same thing, gave up my sanity, took an acid dive, put on the permaclown but instead of beating people up to a pulp, I opted to make everyone literally laugh to death. See Bats, both roads will take us to Rome. You're as insane as me…we are both irremediably out of our minds."

Batman's world turned red again and he tossed his batarang with all his might towards the Jester who with indescribable speed missed it by a few centimeters. The Batman jumped on the Clown and slammed a fist on the Caliph of Clowns' face. Joker fell on his knees.

"How dare you call what I do…madness?" The Batman growled.

"You are more stubborn than I thought. Look what you just tried to do…KILL ME WITH YOUR LITTLE TOY!! Look what your anger made you do. Don't tell me that is not madness, my batty friend." Joker stood up unsteadily on his feet but fell again on the floor. He held his head with a hand. "Oh…and I can see a headache coming right now…"

Batman looked at his clenched fist. On his knuckles he could see the Jester's blood, and could almost hear it laughing back at his inability to control his rage. Why…? Could it be possible that this Grinning monster made him lose his temper so easily? His anger was there, boiling in his veins and the source of his anger was grinning at him from the floor. He wanted to put an end to the murderous clown, but the Joker had showed him the dark side. Was he less of the monster the Joker was? He felt contaminated, he felt filthy. How could he be so closely resemble this psychopath when they were in opposite sides of the law?

"That's the reason you hate me, eh Bats…? Because I'm so much like you that you can't stand the competition? Take a look in the mirror, pal…I'm the part of you that has much more fun…and I will soon need an aspirin." Joker chuckled. "Heh, heh…see if you can handle what you see, because I couldn't handle that much pain. Then I closed my eyes…and let go…heard the Joker make a joke…I laughed…and it was all a riot. I just wanted to be happy for once...stop feeling like this…"

Joker shut his eyes and started to laugh hysterically. What seemed so funny about this conversation? Was something that was escaping even Batman? The Clown talked about pain, about hatred, and he laughed like it was the most hilarious joke? It made no sense.

"Joker…your pain…you are not alone. Surrender, release Gordon unharmed and I…"

"Of course Jack is not alone, Batsy" The Jester interrupted with a large smile on his face. "He always had me to help him cope with his stupid pain, while I had fun bringing this city to total chaos. Amnesia for murder…deal of a lifetime."

"Jack?" Nightwing asked.

"Sorry…wrong number. The person you're trying to reach has been temporarily disconnected." Joker giggled. "I couldn't stand so much pain…what happened to good comedy?" The Jester looked at the Dynamic Duo amusingly, cocking his head slightly as he smiled innocently. He noticed Nightwing's attention. "Hi there, Dumbwing…missed me?"

"I'm offering you a chance, Joker. It doesn't have to end like this. If you are indeed sane…"

"It's not gonna end like this…I have not delivered the biggest punchline yet. Heh, heh…but don't pay attention to me…I'm just ranting here, like crazy people do. 'Cause though Jack was sane…I must indubitably be out of my mind. You know me, I live in a lunatic asylum and all that…so why don't we dance?"

"What is wrong with you? I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Oh…don't you like it when you beat me to a pulp?" Joker said sounding kind of disappointed. "I love it…the pain, the joy…all mixed up in my senseless existence. And don't you worry about me…the pain is gone. There is only me, laughing like only the Clown Prince of Crime can….what? Jack didn't finish you up I see…I will have to take his crap and finish the show for him…" The Clown busted in laughter.

"You are making no sense now…?" Nightwing said.

"That's the point Ass-wing. I've never made sense…not even to myself, but you like me that way, no? Totally out of control. I put the FUN in FUNERAL and the LAUGHTER in SLAUGHTER. I'm the King of Clowns." Joker rose from the floor and extended his arms triumphantly.

"You're…"

"Crazy? Well…DUH! I thought that was the requirement to become a murderous clown. Jack was sane...a cold, calculating and extremely boring son of a bitch who enjoyed projecting his pain on the poor souls of this city with his .38 special. He might have killed more people than me…but no one found him funny. Then here I come… and steal the show, because while Jackie killed one puppet at a time…I do it in multiples of ten….delivering good comedy…GO ME!" Joker laughed loudly and scratched his forehead. "Then I get this stupid idea in my head…even crazy for my standards…"

"What?" Nightwing snapped.

"Taste sanity for the first time…what was I thinking?" Joker rolled his eyes. "That logical, stable state of mind your Bat-daddy over there is so obsessed about. It had always eluded me, you know? Why is it people give sanity so much merit when it's so boring, predictable and unfunny…" The Jester pointed an angry finger to the Detective. "…just like you, Bat-sap. Chaos, on the other hand, is a constant adventure…a rollercoaster out of control. You never know what is gonna happen next or how many people are gonna get killed with one of my jokes until the very end…and then, I don't care as long as they are all dead. It's a riot."

Joker stopped his speech suddenly and looked slightly confused. He rubbed his forehead again as he went on. "But…but I was in control and I hate to be out of control…HAHAHA! You were never in control Jack….you were in pain… take a Tylenol and call me in the morning. Now…SCRAM!" Joker started laughing again, then stopped and frowned. "And who invited you to this party, Clown?" The Jester let out a loud cackle. "Your ugly sister…now get into the back seat and let me drive. This is my stage now…hmmm. I lost my track of thought…again. Joker and Jack are like oil and vinegar…never mix and when they try…it gives me a heartburn. I need a TUMS."

Nightwing eyed the detective. Joker had started to rant aimlessly in his conversation and now had started to talk in the third person again.

"With technical difficulties taken care of….we can return to our regular programming." Joker said giggling childishly. "Wow…what a trip. Now I need good ol' fashioned murder and I will be just OK. Oh, and I remembered…you know what was the problem I had when I tried to recover my sanity?" The detectives listened attentively. "That in order to think like you…I had to become you and now I'm left with this feeling that I'm not real but a fig of someone's imagination. I feel like a depressed, grouchy clown who has forgotten how to laugh and I don't get much sleep with the ghosts of my past chasing me every night at bedtime. It's not funny anymore. Do you have that many demons chasing you over your sleep, Bats? Maybe we can all have a pajama party…you, me and our ghostly friends."

Batman couldn't take it anymore. This conversation was not going anywhere because the Clown's ranting had gone out of control. The Detective threw a punch that Joker effectively blocked, the second missed him by an inch and finally he was able to connect a kick solidly on the Jester's chest. Joker stumbled and fell on his back on the floor. The Knight jumped on the Clown and secured a shackle on the Jester's right hand. Joker tried to push the Batman off him, but it was an impossible task. Mount Everest would be easier to move from the Himalayas. The Clown Prince threw a punch at the Caped Crusader with his free hand, when Batman stopped the Jester's fist in mid air.

Joker tried to pull back his fist, but the crushing grip the Batman had on his hand was too much to fight alone. Batman was a few times stronger than he ever would be, but the Caliph of Clowns continued to squirm on the floor like a madman. Batman fought to keep his grip on the Joker's arm when suddenly, there was snapping sound and the Jester's left wrist bent to an abnormal angle. Joker screamed in pain.

"OW, my God! You animal! Look what you did…my hand…you broke my hand!" Joker yelled at the top of his lungs as Batman fought to keep the Clown still.

"Joker stop! You will make it worse."

"How? It already hurts like a motherfucker!!" Squealed the Jester in obvious pain.

The Joker didn't stop squirming and his left wrist finally snapped from the rest of his arm. Batman looked in terror as the handless arm fell to its side…not bleeding? The Clown Prince thrust his broken arm forward and from within the sleeve a second hand came through to latch on to the detective's exposed skin under the cowl. There was a bright spark of light from the Joker's newly grown hand and the Batman stiffened on the floor, his eyes rolled back in his head and his mouth opened in a silent scream. The Jester let go of the Dark Knight's face and the Detective plummeted on the floor beside the Clown. Joker rolled away from the unconscious body of the Dark Knight and rose to his feet. The Joker was laughing uncontrollably against a wall, a now obviously fake hand, dangled from his shackled right hand. Nightwing, rushed without hesitation to the Batman's side.

"HA! Joker team wins one hundred thousand volts to none." Joker said as his laughter started to sub side. "I would like to humbly dedicate this triumph to Jack's mum and dad, in the hopes that both are dead and rotting in hell. I can't believe that Bats fell for that trick…it's the oldest one on the book."

"Batman, you OK?" Dick said softly close to Batman's face. "Please say something…?"

The Detective's eyes fluttered and opened weakly staring at Nightwing. He was cold and he felt his nose bleeding. "Stop him…at all cost." The Batman swallowed. "…too dangerous…"

Nightwing let the Batman softly on the floor and looked for the Joker who was standing smugly about ten feet away dusting off…against a wall. This was his only chance… so he advanced quickly on the Clown.

"No insanity plea is going to save you now, Clown. I'm gonna finish you off…going to erase that smile off your face…"

"Really?" Joker said as he stared to back off along the wall to keep his safe distance. "You're all talk and no bite, kid…just like Bats. And I want to see you try touching my smile…its patented…so back off! This Clown is loaded…"

"You crazy, demented freak!" Nightwing roared as he got ready to jump on the Clown who had lighted another match, this one caused a small explosion behind, where Batman was still on the floor. Above the Crusader, Dick could see a group of pipes dangling dangerously over the fallen Detective.

"Well, Dumbwing…say bye, bye to the Bat for me…I'm ready for my close up now, Mr. Scorcese!" The Jester pulled a marble grenade from his jacket and tossed it against the hanging pipes exploding close enough to make the chain holding the pipes snap. Nightwing almost had no time to move over to Batman and get him off the way of the metal pipes as they came down on them. Dick was able to pull Bruce out of harm's way, but at the cost of one of the pipes hitting him solidly on his left leg. He lost his balance and fell flatly on his face.

As the pipes hit the floor, the entire warehouse was filled with a dense white cloud of dust that made it very difficult to inhale pure air. It felt as if he was breathing hot sand. Dick's world started to spin out of control, he tried to move when he felt a stabbing pain on his leg…the metal pipe must have hit harder than he thought. Nightwing's vision started to tunnel.

"Oh, the joys of freedom, Jack…" The Joker said while he was laughing heartedly. "Once the duo is dead you can stop suffering and go to hell where you belong and leave me on tour. This town will never forget me or your pain…and in this town the mushrooms are gonna glow in the dark…."

The laughter, now escalated in pitch and volume, started to fade away as the Joker left the scene leaving Nightwing and Batman eventually in silence. The Detective moved on the floor, moaning painfully. The white cloud still lingered around them making breathing hard. He managed with great effort to reach his utility belt and got a miniaturized rebreathing unit he quickly put over his nose and mouth, at the same time he put a pair of heat vision goggles over his mask. Looking around he noticed a heat signal of someone beside him. On the floor Nightiwing was not moving.

Batman searched for the nearest exit which looked to be hundreds of feet away. This cloud was somehow affecting his senses as well, or maybe the poor oxygenation, even through his rebreathing unit, was making him hallucinate. He could only wish that Bullock had been able to intercept the Clown as he tried to leave….he will have the Joker pay for this…

He rose from the floor and advanced with unsteady feet over to where Nightwing lay, breathing heavily. He tried to pull the young man from the floor and drag him to the exit, but felt as if Nightwing's body weighed a few tons. The effort left him exhausted and he fell to the floor panting…he was surprised the Joker's joy buzzer had not killed him right there, but how could he help them escape the warehouse when he could not even walk. If they didn't leave that place soon, they could asphyxiate and there was nothing he could do to help…


	38. After the Storm

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Author's Note: I want to start this little note with a big apology...I'M SO SORRY! I know it has been long since I updated this story, and I'm solely responsible for that. I just wanted all of you to know I am not neglecting the story...I'm not getting tired of it...I'm not forgetting the fans that have been faithfully following the story all this time. I just want to say that this last few chapters...have been coming up at the speed of a snail because right now I'm suffering from a terrible writer's block. The chapters have been changing so much over time, since I had written them; the characters have grown their own personalities throughout the story, and matured along with it... and what I thought was going to be good for an ending, no longer fit the characters or the story. Only option...to rewrite, because you the readers deserve it. Against my deepest apologies...but I'm hoping I can get out of this block soon to bring you a good story for your entertainment...that is all that counts. I even stopped working on Playmate and the sequel to concentrate on the story...hope it pays off. _I'm hoping I will be able to post more often since am one chapter ahead. _

_Right now...I'm presenting you with another chapter...the product of a lot of sweat and a lot of tears. Please let me know if you like it. I am always open to criticism and a little pat on the shoulder...might scare this block from my brain. Hope you guys are able to understand, but only when you are in the hole of a writer's block, you can understand how crippling it is. Hope you like this installment and please...leave your reviews, opinion and critics...I love hearing from you all.. Now...here it is... _

_Disclaimer 1: Batman, Joker, and related characters belong solely to DC COMICS_

_Disclaimer 2: Some scenes will contain material of MATURE NATURE and MATURE LANGUAGE. Please be advised as you read._

**Chapter 38: After the Storm...**

Joker had a much faster way of leaving the warehouse, obviously unaffected by the dust cloud, but how had he done it? Batman tried looking around with a small pair of heat vision goggles he had retrieved from his belt in the hope of seeing the exit the Jester had used through the thick cloud of white, but his vision had started to tunnel, and his visual field was becoming increasingly blurry. He needed to get away fast and take Dick too, but he just felt so weak. Hhis head was still throbbing from the shock.

He tried to fight the fatigue from being short of breath, but all his energies were drained. All he could think of was in his failures and about Joker gaining over all his abilities and training. The Clown had gotten away like a ghost and this failure had sealed Gordon's deadly fate. If he couldn't even save the Commissioner's life, what good was he going to be to this city?

Batman tried the communicator in his cowl…nothing but static. Joker's electric shock must have shorted the transmitter. Great. All he needed now…to be totally incommunicado from the world as he died. No, not die…he had to survive this… He concentrated intensely. His lungs were aching and breathing was like trying to suck air through a straw, but he needed to be able to do something…anything…

"Clark…" He said softly when he was overcome by a coughing fit. He tried again, harder. It was his only hope. "Clark…please, hear me…(koff, koff)…I need your help."

The Knight crawled over to where Dick laid, unconscious, breathing in short shallow breaths, and put a hand over his friend's neck. The pulse was fast and thready. He didn't have time to sit and wait to be rescued, because without his help, Dick will die. He held onto the young hero's belt and tried dragging Nightwing over the floor, but all of a sudden, Dick had become as heavy as the moon, and moving him just a few inches over the harsh floor was a titanic effort. His strength had abandoned him, and his hope was quickly following suit.

"I'm sorry, Dick. (koff, koff). I failed you…I failed (koff)…everybody." Batman said when he heard a loud rumble from the ceiling above. All of a sudden the grayish white cloud of dust, became very bright, and seemed to almost glow. He felt a strong wind, almost like a hurricane, blowing all around him. The Detective leaned over the unconscious Nightwing in an effort to protect him from the merciless wind. The cloud started to dissipate and he saw a large shadow, emerging from the dust, and approaching him.

The Detective turned over to get up and confront this adversary, when he felt something solid and warm wrap around his torso and lift him off his feet. He fought the alien hold momentarily when he felt he was very light, almost like flying.

"DICK!" The Knight screamed followed by another violent cough. The thick cloud quickly disappeared to be replaced by bright blue skies. He could see the warehouse down, and also see the police and fire trucks closing on the building. Was he dead? Was this one of those out of body experiences…had it been too late?

The ground returned under his fit, but his legs were too weak to hold his weight. As he started to fall to the ground two powerful hands broke his fall, and helped him to sit on the floor.

"You OK?" He heard a voice say in front of him. Batman looked up and tried to see who had spoken, but all he could see was the silhouette of a giant, towering him against the bright Gothamite sun. Something seemed to flap behind the gigantic figure. Wings? Was this an angel? No, angels don't exist…why was it so difficult to think straight? His thoughts were running like a herd of wild boars, and to put those thoughts into words was extremely difficult. Bruce tried to focus on the large figure. He needed to understand what had just happened.

The figure then came closer to the Detective and he could finally see that the giant wore blue and red robes…and a large letter S, inside a shield over his broad chest. Bruce narrowed his eyes and look at the fair face of the giant, noticing two warm blue eyes looking back at him tenderly.

"Batman…you OK?" The giant said again, his voice very familiar.

"Nightwing…?" Batman finally said fighting another cough. "Where's Nightwing…?"

"Right beside you." The man with the red cape said. "The paramedics are looking after him now."

He looked down to this right and saw Nightwing lying on the floor and three men in blue tending to him, and then looked back at the caped giant. A name for the giant finally reached his lips. "Superman…the Joker…"

"Shhh, calm down. Breathe. We can talk about this later…"

"No…Joker (koff, koff)…do you have Joker…?" The Knight was able to say between wheezes.

The Man of Steel sighed. "I'm afraid not…he escaped in his submarine shortly after you got into the warehouse."

"Submarine…but how…? (KOFF!) I just …talked to him..."

"That's impossible…he escaped close to an hour ago. In the boat, remember? He created a diversion on the Gotham Bridge that kept the League and I occupied and he sneaked under the Coast Guard's nose."

"The Joker…in the boat…was a decoy. (koff, gasp). He was waiting for us…inside…black and grey suit…(koff, koff)…you must have seen him when he escaped the warehouse…?

"Sorry, but no one was seen leaving the warehouse. That is why I went in for you." Superman rested his head painfully against the palm of his hand. "That sneaky clown…there were really two Jokers…"

"No…only one…a very dangerous one." Batman replied between wheezes as a paramedic approached him and supplied him with an oxygen mask while he prepared his equipment to exam the detective. The Knight stared at the medic with some reserves.

"It's OK, Batman," The emergency specialist said. "Just breathe into the mask slowly. "

"Please…" The Kryptonian pleaded tenderly. Batman nodded and placed the mask over his nose and mouth at the same time he looked around to see Nightwing moaning painfully while he was tended by three paramedics. The large figure of Lieutenant Bullock joined them by the ambulance.

"Glad you and your friend made it alive. For a moment thought the Joker had done you like he did the people on the bridge." The Lieutenant said loudly trying to compete with the noise from the police and fire trucks that were now all around them. "The Joker gave us a run for our money tonight."

Batman frowned. People dying tonight, because of Joker? When were the deaths going to stop? "How many…people…died?" The Batman asked through the mask.

"Batman that can wait…" Superman interjected.

"HOW MANY DEAD?" Batman yelled ignoring the advice.

Bullock stared at the Batman for a moment, as if pondering upon the question. "A little over a dozen, we don't have the final numbers yet, but there are still about ten people unaccounted for. Twice that number of injured. If it wasn't for the League's help the victims would have been incalculable. Everything is under control now…"

"No, not until the Joker is stopped…only then…the killings will stop."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The large cargo cranes were located about three miles southeast from the dock warehouses where patrol cars and ambulances could be seen flashing their lights in the distance. The skies had started to darken after the sun hid behind the horizon a few minutes before, but the smoking Gotham Bridge was still visible with its two main pylons producing a thick black column of smoke that had started to drift towards the cargo cranes. It was a magnificent spectacle, at least for the man sitting on the back of the patrol car that was driving between the large cranes towards some abandoned warehouses. Chaos in the city of Gotham, it always brought a smile to his face.

He turned around on the seat of the vehicle to look up front where some old warehouses were becoming visible. This place, just like the warehouses on the other side of the river, had not seen a visitor in a long time and were in dire need of paint and reconstruction. It would be the perfect place to just relax and enjoy the show of a city in turmoil…and what a show it was. If he was in crime for the ratings…this would have broken the all time viewing record . This city loved chaos as much as he did…and he loved to give his audience what they wanted.

"See, Jack…" He said reclining comfortably on the seat with his hands on the back of his head. "Life is a lot more fun if you stop whining and start smiling…"

"Did you say something, Mr. Joker?" The driver asked looking through the rear view mirror.

"Pay attention to the road, Carl…you will be hitting the warehouse with the big letters anytime now…"

"Yes, sir." The driver responded looking straight ahead.

The Jester nodded complacently. Not only was he riding first class on a patrol car, with no shackles, and with his own private chauffeur, but his encounter with the Big Bad Bat had been another great success. The only thing that would have made his day was to have seen the pestering vermin die in front of his eyes…painfully. But the Clown had a point. This has been his most hated enemy, for long decades now. The least he could do was to make a show out of it, memorable…for the entire world to see so the world could understand that nobody could stand in the Joker's way. Bane had done quite a statement when he had shown Batman's broken body to the city and he will have to work hard to top that. But he was used to challenges. He was always devising ways to top his previous performances and he could find a way to top this one too…

"If you would have just shot him like I had already planned…it would have ended tonight." He started to say when he busted in laughter. "Yeah, and what about the great showmanship that has been our trademark all this years? You are so lame, Jack… and so fucking boring. You need some...I dont know...finess? We're artists for heaven's sake!"

"Sir?" The driver asked again

Joker frowned. "Is your name Jack…? JUST STARE AT THE ROAD, CARL!"

The driver did as he was told in silence. He knew that upsetting Joker could be extremely dangerous. Joker just put his hands down over his chest and giggled.

"At least it would have been done. You, clown…play too much...take too long." Joker said in a dark gloomy voice. "And I still have this pain in my chest…and no one to share it with. I'm so lonely…and so angry. Why everybody wants to hurt me…? Why can't I laugh? Maybe is time to share this pain…so it will not hurt this much…"

The Jester ran a weary hand along his face. The big show at the bridge, the successful encounter with the Bat, all the dead people at the Arena…all his doing, but all so empty. He wished he wouldn't have done that…it was too chaotic, too unpredictable…and it felt wrong. Killing people like this, made him feel like he was killing his own wife…again…why? Damn remorse…Whast was wrong with him? How could part of him enjoy this like it was some kind of game while the other…felt so distressed of all this murder, and chaos? Not only that. He felt like more blood needed to run down the city's highways; more pain to ease the pain inside him. He knew that he was losing control…and that scared him, but at the same time…he welcomed it. Once he lost his mind all over again, there will be no more of this pain. Why couldn't he just let go for once and for all…

"The city is a big playground, Jack…." Joker reminded himself with a cackle. "Someone will want to play with you." The Jester leaned over towards the driver giggling. "I should have taken a picture of the Batman's face for the family album, Carl. You don't see Bats all that confused on the wild…"

"Uh-hmm." The driver said while looking attentively outside for the vehicle. The sun had set and the smoke coming from the bridge pylons, have darkened the skies early. Most of the buildings here, most of them large empty naves,had been abandoned decades ago by their government . Otheres were just simply forgotten in a mountain of red tape that no one will ever remember, but all were run down, stripped by time of any distinctive markings. For Carl, all these buildings were all alike.

"Is your friend enjoying the ride, Carl?" Joker said as he held to the bars that separated him from the driver. "He looks…I don't know…kind of stiff." The Jester flipped back into the seat and started to laugh loudly. Carl looked beside him to the dead cop sitting on the passenger seat. The officer, with his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and a very extensive smile, was now pale and cold.

"He's still smiling…" Carl said.

"Good. Nothing better than good American humor for the Gotham Police. Even pigs need to laugh, laugh to death." Joker started to laugh again and stopped in the middle of a guffaw. "How can I laugh when the truth is…I don't think it's funny? It's just murder, plain and simple."The Joker closed his eyes and waved his hand high above his head as if brushing an annoying bug. "Stop whining and start smiling, Jack."

"Boss, you sure that building is around here?" The driver started to say when he finally spotted the large metal building with the four large letters on the entrance door. "Never mind…I found it. Damn! This place is really dark at night, eh Boss?"

Carl felt something cold and solid against the back of his head. He looked carefully through the rear view mirror and saw the Joker pointing his gun to his head. The Jester's smile was almost completely gone and his eyes were small and angry.

"Carl, never…EVER use the words dark and night that close together in a sentence. They sound too much like Dark Knight…"

"But, but…"

"…and Dark Knight sounds like Batman…which causes a horrendous pain in my gut. I don't like to be in pain…I will kill to get the pain away…even if it's you, or your friends, or you family. Just stop the pain, clear?"

"Y-yes, Boss…" Carl answered nervously. "Sorry."

Joker put the gun away in his jacket and sat back cozily on the seat, as Carl found a spot to park by the warehouse's large metal rolling doors, and made a full stop. The Clown Prince looked at Carl, static on the driver's seat as if waiting for Christmas…_'What the hell is he thinking?' _Joker thought_. 'I can't open these doors from inside…"_ The Jester coughed softly and Carl rushed out of the car and opened the back seat door. The Clown stepped out of the car and surprisingly wrapped an arm around the driver holding at the man tightly.

"Would you be so kind as to get rid of the patrol car before someone comes looking for it?" The Jester said smiling wide. He let go of Carl and started to flounce towards the side of the building where a set of stairs led to the upper floors. He suddenly turned around and spoke softly as if whispering. "And please take care of the pig too…I don't like bacon lying around, get it?"

"Yes, sir…" Carl answered getting back into the driver's seat and started the car.

"And you disappear too. Just keep yourself handy…cell phone always close."

Carl nodded and started to drive away. Joker looked around carefully and pulled up the collar of his black jacket. The night was starting to get nippy, as the cold breeze blew from the icy waters of the river. He had never really liked winters. He was not thick built or stocky to protect him from the icy weather, and the cold reminded him of his old cell in the asylum. The Jester climbed the old rusty stairs up to the second level of the nave and walked over to a gray door by the side. He quickly fumbled on his pocket and finally retrieved a small key that he used on the lock. All this time, he giggled to himself, at his genius, at his talent to make people laugh to death. He opened the door and slipped in quickly trying to escape the cold, and closed the door behind him. When he turned around he found a group of a dozen and a half Leopards with half of them pointing their guns at him.

"Good to see that everybody missed me…" The Jester said taking his hat off and running a quick hand over his wild green mane. "Now, where is the welcoming band?"

"Joker…Boss?" One of the Leopards said lowering his gun and advancing a few paces towards the Jester. "That was you…in the patrol car? We thought we had been busted."

"Transportation was graciously arranged, unknowingly, by the GCPD…and with warm Christmas wishes to you all from Santa…There will be one less cop to worry about." Joker busted in laughter and the Leopards laughed with him.

"JOKER!" A feminine voice said from the back of the room. From among the Leopard group a woman dressed up on a purple tuxedo and wearing white and red makeup in her face and a short green tuft of green hair on top of her head rushed towards the Clown Prince. "You made it! For a moment I thought they had gotten you arrested."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence in my abilities to avoid arrest, Princess…and I'm glad to see you and your feline menagerie made it alright. Did you like swimming with the fishes…? You might do that again soon."

"I never doubted you, Boss, but it is that the Batman…" The lady clown said as she stopped within inches of the Clown Prince. Her eyes opened wide as she noted the blackened left eye and the dried blood under the Joker's nose and chin. "What happened to you?"

"What always happens…the Bat-freak used me as his personal pinata…" Joker pulled his lips in a forced expression of sadness. "And it wasn't even his birthday…"

"Yeah, but you're still bleeding." Charley said noticing the small trickle of blood under the Jester's nose. The Joker pulled out a brilliant green handkerchief from his jacket and taking a lonely water bottle from a nearby table wetted the cloth and started to clean his face. Princess took over and helped him. "That son of a bitch…"

"Just a flesh wound really. And…Uncle Joker gave the Bat a dose of whoop ass he's not going to forget for a while. Remember when I told you about taking advantage when you least expect it?"

"Yes, but that would have required for you to get real close to the Bat…"

"HELLO, PRINCESS…look at my face. I think I got close enough. Any closer and I would have done a rectal exam on the bat…"

Charley smiled. "Yes…but that was risky and very crazy too. Then that's you all the way." She heard the Jester sigh. "So the Batman is dead now?"

"Well, that…is a matter of point of view."

"Joker…you either killed him or you didn't."

The Jester pondered. "What about he's dead…but he doesn't know it." Joker said smiling wide and walking over Michael who sat all by himself in a corner with the laptop resting on a chair in front of him. The hacker noticed the incoming clown and reacted with some reserve. "Oh Blip, that hand trick, mah-veh-lous….remind me to get you a raise."

Charley followed Joker over and grabbing him rudely by his jacket, she turned him around to face her. "That's the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my life. You are just bluffing. You didn't kill him…did you?"

"Oh I killed him alright. It's just going to be a lot more fun to watch." Joker forced a smile and tried to turn around, but Charley pulled him back again.

"Don't play games with me, Joker. You promised me a city without a vigilante."

"And what the Joker promise, the Joker delivers." The Jester said with resentful eyes. "And you ever touch me like that, Princess, I'm going to chopyour hands off …along with your beautiful head. Do we have an understanding?"

Jake walked forward and started to pull a gun from the back if his pants. Charley waved a hand to the large man, and he stopped, returned the gun to its sheath and stepped back.

"Be careful, Joker…that is not a way to treat a lady…"

"Lady…where? Ohh…I get it…this is some kind of metaphor or simile….no, it's an irony, right?"

"Jerk." Charley glared angrily at the Clown, after sticking his tongue out, started addressing Blip. "You are somewhat different…the Clown is back, isn't he?

"Back?" Joker asked looking at her paternally. "But Princess…I never left…was just in sabbatical at the Ringling Brothers." The Jester busted in laughter, but this time he laughed alone.

"And what are you going to do now. Mr. Clown? You've made a mess in the city, and the Batman has to be furious wanting a piece of you."

"We sit and watch the show as it unfolds. Believe me, the best is about to come…"

Blip's cell phone rang in his characteristic Star Wars theme, that so annoyed Joker. With a shy smile he rose from the chair and walked towards the wall to get the call. The Jester took the opportunity to take Michael's seat at the computer and surf the net by himself. He opened the browser and searched the local newspaper online.

"Behold the Chaos I have caused in this city…Christmas is such a happy season…when Joker is back in town. No matter what Jack says about pain…Come all ye faithful…joyful and…"Joker started to sing when he suddenly stopped to look into the computer screen with great attention as he read the headline on the local online newspaper. His happy smile soon became an angry sneer, and his eyes, became small and hateful. "What in Clown heaven…?"

"What is it?" Charley inquired approaching Joker.

"The Commissioner…they found my Commissioner," The Jester continued clicking at the keyboard incessantly trying to expand on the headline "My toy…they just took away my toy …what am I gonna do without my toy this Christmas…?"

"SHIT!" Michael screamed on the phone when everybody including the boss, looked at him. He didn't notice the prying eyes of the crowd and went on…"I cannot tell him….you crazy? "

"Don't tell me what? You knew about this?" Joker inquired angrily. Blip finally turned around to see the Jester at the computer glaring at him.

"No. I didn't, I swear. Just…No, Elliott, I'm not talking to you." Michael said in the phone.

Joker growled and lunged at the hacker who could only respond by cowering on the corner. The Jester tried to peel the phone from the hacker's hands but Michael held to it for dear life. The Clown Prince kicked Blip on the stomach and finally took the phone from the moaning hacker.

"Elliott…Joker here. I'm going to kill you with my bear hands…ohhh…I'm gonna have so much fun with your corpse..." He roared at the phone. "What you mean it's not your fault…he was in your care." Joker said walking back to the computer. Running a nervous hand over his green hair, the Jester kicked the chair with the laptop, sending the computer through the air towards the ground. Michael, though still in pain, glided toward the chair, and barely caught the computer before it hit the floor.

"How the hell did she get in….?" The Joker went on as he walked over to a nearby wall and rested his head and hand on it. Charley could see the Jester's hand scraping hard against the dirty surface of the metal wall, his hand quickly becoming an angry fist. "I'm going to kill that stupid broad…after I'm done peeling the meat off your bones, Elliott. Why? Because you suck as a guard dog. I'm gonna have you euthanized…made into ground beef…and exported to China."

Blip started to crawl away from Joker, the laptop firmly held in his arms, when he was surprised by his cell phone exploding beside him against the floor. He gingerly turned around to see the slim Joker figure, huffing and puffing with his hands clenched tightly beside him. The Clown Prince stared at him angrily.

"I swear boss, you have to believe me…I didn't know." Blip started timidly. "I just saw the news like just now…"

"What's going on…?" Charley inquired.

"Gordon didn't escape…" Joker huffed. "He was rescued…by Harley…" It was obvious that he had effort saying that name that sounded more like a growl. He never lifted his eyes from the hacker on the floor to look at the Leopard leader.

"The little bitch…" Charley sneered.

"Little soon to be dead bitch…"Joker finished with a stomp of his feet on the floor. "What a way of ruining the Christmas spirit…What is Christmas without toys to play with. Everybody will have one but me. No siree…not this Christmas. Can't they buy their own? They want to bully me for my toys…? I'll show them not to play with me like that. I'm gonna break all the toys, destroy the toy store and burn the city in the process, just for the heck of it, just so they can understand how this feels…"

Joker eyed Michael mischievously. "Blip, send an email to Metropolis. Tell Luthor I have some money to spend…in whatever he has…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman walked over the ambulance where a paramedic was testing the blood pressure on Nightwing.

"How are you feeling…?" The Knight asked solemnly.

"Sore…but I'll live. Those pipes bruised me real bad, but luckily, didn't break anything." Nightwing said noticing the defeated look in Batman's face. He didn't remember ever seen the Caped Crusader so worried. "You did all you could…this Clown was expecting us in there."

Batman remained silent as the paramedic finished and started to put all his equipment back in his bag. Nightwing was right. He had tried his best…but his best had not been enough. Next time he faces Joker, he will have to sacrifice everything to bring the Clown down…if he really could sacrifice any more. This Joker was like nothing he had faced before, as if he had become a brand new enemy…one that he didn't have time to study. Just bring him down, and bring him down hard. The paramedic took his equipment and after a friendly nod to the duo left them to tend to other victims.

"Did you hear what I said?" Dick inquired.

"Yes…It's just that Joker surprised me…as if I was a rookie. My mistake could have resulted in a higher death toll, but what was my mistake…my inability to even imagine the possibility that Joker had regained his sanity?"

"I would hardly call Joker sane, Batman? I think it was clear when he started to argue with himself."

"But that was now…during the last seven months I have been dealing with an extremely intelligent, meticulous, angry, logical criminal who has successfully evaded me all this time, remaining in the backstage. Does it sound like Joker to you?"

"No, but a leopard doesn't change his spots. Joker is crazy, and even if he wasn't then…the man in the warehouse is losing it…his delirious. What is that entire thing about pain…or you killing his family? Joker with a family…even the thought of that is crazy."

"I don't know if what he said in the warehouse is real or not. He had told his psychiatrists at least eight different versions of his past. But the truth is that this Joker is more than just crazy…he is angry … very angry."

"And an angry Joker will start making mistakes…" Nightwing started to say when the Man of Steel joined them.

"…or become very deadly…"

"How are you doing, guys?" Said Superman approaching the duo.

"Much better thanks to you…thanks for rescuing us from the warehouse."

"Thank Batman," The Kryptonian said putting a reassuring hand on the Detective's shoulder. "He kept talking…in the hope I will be able to hear him."

"Didn't have much of an option and you were listening." The Knight said humbly. "Thank you. Did you hear any word from J'onn?"

"No, not yet…as soon as I do, I'll let you know." Superman smiled gently. "You will be glad to know that Gordon was found alive in an alley not too long ago. Bullock told me that they rushed him to a hospital and though he was badly injured and dehydrated, they think he is going to do a complete recovery."

Batman looked around and noted a red headed police officer, from a group of cops gathered by Lieutenant Bullock, was looking at him intensely…her blue eyes glistened sadly. When he returned the stare, she quickly looked away, back to the Lieutenant who was giving orders to the group of officers. Why was that officer looking at him, and why did she look so familiar…?

"Gordon escaping from Joker? Now the Commissioner deserves a medal for courage."

"Gordon was shot in a leg by Joker…I doubt he made the escape alone. He would have not gone far…" Batman said.

"How do you know?" Superman said. "Bullock said that the Commissioner had told him Harley help him out of the hideout."

"He must have been confused because of his injuries." Nighwing said, looking at the Detective. "He couldn't be talking about Harley Quinn…she's Joker's girlfriend. Why would she betray the madman she is infatuated with…?"

"I don't know much about Gotham criminal element…but if this Harley Quinn is the same one I encountered when Joker visited Metropolis…she is as disturbed as her boyfriend…" Superman contributed.

"And she was also left by herself at the asylum, when the Joker escaped…he never went back for her."

"You think she is trying to get even with Joker…?" Nightwing said. "She should know better than to get Joker angry…"

"Unfortunately, the only way Joker pays attention to her is when he is mad…"

"She really needs help…" Superman said shaking his head slightly.

Batman took a quickly look around and saw the re-headed officer entering the warehouse, and just before entering the building, she looked back at him…this time her eyes were resentful. "I don't think she understands. For Harley…it is love…Joker's way of love." Batman contributed to the discussion. "Would you excuse me a moment…need to see the scene of the crime again. Maybe there is still a chance of finding out where Joker went."

Both heroes nodded affirmatively and Batman started to walk towards the warehouse when he was approached by Lieutenant Bullock.

"Glad t'see you doing better, Batman." The Lieutenant said while lighting a cigarette. "The bomb squad just gave us the green light to enter the building. All charges have been neutralized."

"Thanks. Do you mind if I take another look around the warehouse?"

"My men are gathering evidence as we speak," Bullock responded noticing the insistence on the Knight's eyes. The Batman was not asking permission to enter the warehouse. "…but suit yourself. Maybe you can find something useful."

Batman nodded politely as he continued towards the building. He could still hear the Joker's voice in the back of his head… _'I'm gonna make this city feel my pain…' _That was an ominous threat, especially coming from a man who had not been satisfied with the bloodshed he had caused already in the city. How far was the Jester going to go to inflict pain…how many more innocent victims will fall prey to the grinning madman?

He arrived at the large metal doors of the warehouse and as he entered the building, a strange feeling took over him. He could almost swear that he could still see Joker, smoking smugly a cigar by the large bins to the right, and those green eyes of the psychopath glowing with a red fire of well fed hatred…What has happened to you, Joker…?

"Can I help you, Batman?" Detective Montoya surprised The Knight in his thought.

"Just would like to take a look around, if you don't mind."

"Sure. If you want to see something creepy, check the writing behind the metal bins over there." She said pointing to the metal bins where Batman remembered he saw the Jester for the first time. "We suspect Joker wrote it while he was waiting for you and Nightwing."

Batman advanced to the area Montoya had indicated. By the bin, two officers were taking pictures of the rusted bin. The Detective came in closer and finally could see the writing, made in yellow chalk over the dark metal bin.

_**Kill the Beasts…here, now, and everywhere you see…then cry, and die…only laughter will set your soul free."**_

Kill the Beast…The batman was the Beast of the Night. Joker wanted him dead and he knew that…but why more than one beast? The rest of the message didn't made sense either. He will have to analyze the meaning of this later on, but first he needed to see if he could find a clue that would lead him to the Jester. With a Joker that had been able to fool him during seven months…he was not sure he will find much here. If The Clown didn't want to be found, he will not be found.

The Detective looked over the mezzanine and noticed the same red-headed officer that had looked at him so insistently and with that much resentment before. She was looking over some charred remains of the previous explosion on the mezzanine when she did the unthinkable. She carefully looked around her and removed the examination gloves and started touching all the evidence with her bare hands. This was a violation of forensic procedure. Batman advanced to the stairs leading to the mezzanine and went up hastily, but careful of not making any unnecessary noise. The exercise made unusually tired, but after what he had been through, it was understandable that his body protested the effort. Arriving at the top, he noticed the officer, still over the evidence, oblivious of his presence.

"Can I help you, Miss?" Batman said in a low raspy voice.

The officer turned around startled.

"Oh…you scared me Bats…" The officer said catching her breath. That voice…he recognized that voice. "I …I was just told to take samples of the ash and…"

"Harley…?" He asked simply. The officer's bright blue eyes opened wide with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

There you have it folks...No let me hear what you think about it. I promise to post soon another chapter... Thanks for your support and best wishes always...JOKERLADY. 


	39. Descent to Madness: A Review

_**CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!!**_

_**Author's note**:Today its been exactly one week..._

_**HEATH LEDGER 1979-2008**_

_It's very sad, but a week ago we lost one of the greatest new stars in Hollywood. A star in the rising. He was like a Supernova...one of those stars that all of a sudden glows with such intensity that dwarfs all the others on the sky and fades away from view, but behind it leaves a great deal of things to be remembered by._

_He lived a short, full life, and left a legacy for us to follow. He taught us that we can still make good movies and memorable characters in the movies. It's not for the money, it's not for the fame, it's all for the art. He taught us it doesnt matter where we come from, we can always excel in what we do if we put our soul and our will. He taught us how important family values are and the value of responsible parenthood. He told us that it was OK to have issues, life has its up and downs, and that it was OK to talk about them. And lastly, he told us it was OK to be ourselves, different, odd, special, or just regular Joe...just be yourself. It's not worth to leave a fake life._

_To Heath's family, especially little Matilda...my heart is with you all. To the world...please don't forget Heath. He was a consumate actor, great human being, down to earth guy, and a gifted artist. I personally will enjoy his legacy. His movies are part of my collection, and I am looking forward to TDK. I know I will enjoy Heath's last and probably most powerful performance yet. Not only because he played my favorite character, the Joker, but because I know that he tried to do justice to the character...and gave him 150 of his talent and his art. What else  
can I ask for...I will be there, folks, with my Joker-Heath T-shirt playing tribute to one heck of an actor. REST IN PEACE HEATH...I WILL MISS YOU._

* * *

Sorry for the discourse guys, but had to do this little tribute. Life is so freaking short...enjoy it to the fullest.In the meantime, enjoy another chapter in tis long saga. Now tha Harley is in the in the picture (again), what is gonna happen? This Harley is different, is mature, is human...hope you like her. Please feel free to leave your comments, your criticism , even your personal ideas on the story. I love hearing from all the fans. Good news...I think that the Writer's Block is leaving...YAY!

_**NOTE:** THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN BETA-ED BY KICHI (applause, please)_

Disclaimer 1: Batman and all related characters belong solely to DCCOMICS

Disclaimer 2: Threr are going to be instances of MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Readers please be adviced to read responsibly.

**CHAPTER 39: Descent to Madness: A Review**

"Ah don't know w-what you mean?" The officer said nervously looking around her as if trying to find a way to get off the mezzanine. "I'm just here doing my job and-…"

"Harley, you can't fool me…you shouldn't be here. This is dangerous."

"I don't…" The officer said timidly when she finally let her hands down and sighed. "Gee…and I thought I had a foolproof costume this time. Even fooled that Lieutenant Bullass…How did you know?"

"Nobody calls me Bats, but Joker and you …" Batman responded as he noticed Harley putting her face on her hand and moaning softly.

"Damn…Note to self: Watch more CSI shows and practice the cop talk. Jokey Pooh was right…I'm a total klutz."

"You didn't answer my question, what are you doing here?"

"I'm doing what yeh promised to do when we spoke at the asylum." Harley spat furiously. "I'm searching for mah Puddin'!"

"Harley, let me deal with Joker. He's too dangerous for you to handle."

"I know mah Joker, Bats…and I know what I'm doing."

"Let me get him…" Batman demanded.

"So yeh can give 'im a whoopin'? No thanks, Sugah. My Puddin' needs love and understanding, not a broken jaw or a bruised rib."

"How little you know me, Quinn…." Batman responded angrily. "I will get him back…"

"Sure, in pieces…don't ya think I know what you did to 'im before? I heard the pigs talk…said you gave 'im a whoopin of a lifetime', even broke his hand…made 'im bleed. Mistah J, don't need tha' kinda help."

"That was a fake hand he used to trick me…and I was trying to stop him when he left me no option. He was resisting the arrest."

"There are always options, Bats…can't yeh see he's sick?"

"And dangerous…" Batman said dryly.

"He needs to find the Joke and laugh again. What he's doing is no funnyno more. It's just…mean."

"That's why you saved the Commissioner from his hideout…because it was no fun?" Batman asked with some resentment. Thrill rides at the expense of the lives of innocent people was not funny. Did she really believed it or did she really understand the concept of good and evil…? Harley was totally out of her mind, or maybe she was not as crazy as he thought she was…

"He told ya, didn't he?" She responded as if she had be caught doing something bad. "I had to…Poor Gordy…my Puddin' was too mad to see his mistake…"

"Harley…for Joker it was not a mistake. He wanted to hurt Gordon...the same way he is going to hurt you when he finds out it was you who rescued the Commissioner." Batman advanced a step and Harley stepped back in response, while looking nervously over the rail. "He will kill you…"

"No he won't…"

"He already tried once. He sent an associate to kill you at the asylum, but you were already gone."

"It's not true…Yer making this up…stop it!" Harley protested covering her ears with her hands."

I can show you the Arkham surveillance video. If you find Joker, he's going to try to kill you again…"

Harley's eyes glistened with tears. Batman would have preferred not to tell her like this, but he needed to let her know the severity of the situation. She looked around nervously, as if trying to find something to say from the debris around her.

"Then it's worse than I thought…" She said simply, crossing her arms over her chest tightly. Her voice cracked as the tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Yes, it is…Now step down and let me do my job. I don't want him to hurt anybody else, especially you." The Knight saw Harley back off against the rail for support. The news had devastated her. Batman tried to advance towards her.

"Don't come any closer. I'm not helpless, Bats…" She warned.

"Harley, don't make this harder for both of us…"

"Yer still blind as a bat, Bat-sap…Just getting to 'im to the asylum is not going to help."

"I'm not a psychiatrist…there is no other way I can help him…"

"But I am…at least I used to be one. I can see the things he does…and there's alot of angry pain there, Bats. Did he talk to you about his pain?"

The Knight listened attentively. This seemingly naïve girl had read the Joker's behavior like an open book, while he had been dancing in the dark with a total stranger. Was Harley seeing another part of the picture he was totally missing? But how? The woman was totally insane…like the murderous clown she claimed to be in love with, wasn't she?"How…do you know…?"

Harley sighed impatiently. "Because I know him, Bats…I know all about him. You just know the crazy clown that laughs at murder and finds chaos hilarious. Not anymore, Bats…for Joker, murder is not funny anymore…"

"But he's still murdering innocent people…"

"And he will continue…killing more and more, until no one is left in the city, because he remembers that it was funny, it made him laugh. He wants to laugh again, and he will only stop killing when he recover's the Joke…"

"Harley, that doesn't make any sense…"

"Argh!" She exclaimed stomping her foot in frustration. "Would yeh stop being the logical detective for once and listen to me? There's nothing logical about Joker, nothing makes sense. NOTHING! Murder makes him happy and killing people is his idea of fun…period. But what will happen if all of a sudden he is extremely depressed and everything loses meaning and stops being fun? If his life, his crimes…nothing fulfills him anymore. What will he do?

"He will do anything in his power to regain this happiness, that's what he'll do, no matter how many he had to take down." Harley went on. "Because he hates to feel unhappy. That's why Joker exists…to make him happy. In his mind…there has to be a way to cheer himself up with murder. He had done it before…he just needs to try harder, and harder. His crimes will be more and more violent every time, and more people will die until he find his Joke…Yeh understand now?"

"Like a vicious circle…"

"Exactly. And every time he fails to get happy…he sinks even more in his depression. The more depressed he gets…the harder it will be to get hisJoke back…and the meaner he'll become."

"But he's always killed people…how…?"

"And once he was happy…he would stop and just fool around with you…readyto go to the asylum, because his happiness took away his murderoustendencies so there was nothing else left to do except have fun, at yourexpense. That's what you never understood. Yeh always thought you haddefeated him, when it was he who wanted you to defeat him. Joker is a powerful energy fueled by his anger and when he was drained, he willneed to get back to the asylum to recharge…and forget his anger. With no anger…Mistah J 'is at peace…and in the best o' moods. This time, murderis not reaching his expectations, but he knows that if he tries hard andlong enough he will commit that murder that will let him recover his  
twisted humor…"

"He will only stop if one of those murders makes him happy again? That's what you're saying?"

"Bingo…but there's something else that doesn't allow him to regain hishumor no matter how many people he takes down, something's really wrong and it's preventing him from being really happy with murder again…and he doesn't know what it is."

"He will just go on…committing murders more violent and lethal than ever before…" Batman said as if talking to himself. Why couldn't he see it…? This was the reason why every murder Joker had committed, had been escalating in violence.

"Exactly, until I find him and soon, Bats. I need to make him laugh again, help him find his Joke…before he wastes this entire city. And he will…because he doesn't know when to stop now. The energy fueling Joker is totally out of control, and he's killing out of hatred not joy.Joker without his joke is like a locomotive without anybody at the helm. If only I knew what triggered his problem…"

"His sanity…" Batman commented absentmindedly. Everything now was starting to make sense.

"What?"

"He regained his sanity…"

"You must be kidding me…he couldn't."

"He told me himself when we met here. He did…somehow…find a way to regain his sanity."

Harley's eyes opened in terror and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh God…no. Not him…This is no good."

"Harley…?"

"You don't understand Bats. The man Joker was when he was sane…was cold, psychopathic, unable to feel anything but anger. He was mean, ruthless and his humor was dark and evil. He hated his life and the world around him, because for him, the world and his life was nothing but pain…and he hated to be in pain. That is why he created Joker in his mind…to take the pain away."

"How do you know this…?"

"HELLO, Bat-sap…I was his psychiatrist for over a year, remember? I saw this side of him once after one of Dr. Arkham' shock treatments and he was miserable. No laughing, no joy…just this wish to cause pain, get his revenge on his enemies…and believe me…he will destroy everything around him to cause pain. Luckily the Joker took over him again, made him happier and helped him deal with his pain because Joker without his laughter can't exist…life is too painful, unbearable. The Joker is really a lot tamer version of who Joker could be…"

"That is hard to believe…and you saw this in your sessions?"

Harley eyed him suspiciously. "Yes…why--?"

"I don't recall you ever reported anything like this…"

Harley smiled. "Don't make me laugh. Me saying that Joker was the better of two evils…? Dr. Arkham never let me report my findings. He said I was too naïve in my approach to the interviews and that Joker was using me, like he had used a lot of doctors before. Every time I brought a report from the interview, he will toss it in the garbage bin. He insisted that  
the only way to deal with Joker was to do electroshock, to beat him violently in order to tame the mean little brat he was. He wanted more pain, for a man already in pain…Now how idiotic is that?"

"Harley…I didn't know…"

"Of course nobody knew…because nobody ever cared. He was locked up so who wanted to rehabilitate him? They just wanted to forget about him." Harley wiped a furtive tear. "When he had the Joke and he could laugh…his pain would go away. He would joke around, be gentle, courteous, and believe me…murder was not in his mind…only to have fun. Like a little kid. Then that day…I saw him. He was not smiling and I could see the rage in his eyes. I asked him what was wrong, and he talked about life not being funny to him anymore…that he wanted to kill me and everybody in the hospital to laugh his head off with the chaos. He told me why he was so angry…I listened. The loneliness, the betrayal, the loss…It was so sad…"

"And then he turned you into his accomplice in crime…"

"No…It's-it's complicated, but I chose to be with him. Bats, the Joke makes him so free, so powerful. Even boosts his creativity. He doesn't let society dictate his life or his thoughts. He is his own man and with him I felt like myself…like I didn't have to pretend. For once I felt free. It was that freedom that drew me to him."

"But he was still a murderer…"

"But free…don't you wish sometimes you were able to shed your painful past, set aside society's restricting, useless rules and just be happy doing what yeh like? Just be who you wanna be…?" Harley sighed. "No, you will never understand."

"Not at the expense of other people's lives…"

"If you tasted the happiness that only insanity can give you…you would understand that life is not worth lamenting but enjoying. Why suffer when there is so much to feel, other than pain… Insanity's addictive, Bats…like crack. You don't want to change that happiness for anything in the world, and I could only get it through him. But I didn't want to become a murderer either…all I wanted was to reach that child within him again…make him understand this joy could be permanent. I wanted to be the the anchor of his ship, the center of his chaos...

"His life had always been a battle of extremes…his anger on one end, and the Clown's dark humor on the other. I wanted to teach him how to find the center…where he will be happy and he would not need to destroy everything around him to be happy. It's not new, he did it once, with his wife…I dont know how, but she tamed the murderer inside him. I wanted to do just that. Now…I'm not so sure I will be able to stop him, because there is an evil, sad, angry thing inside him that's in control all the time...like a furnace burning out of control, and in his frustration, this now angry kid wants to cause even more pain around him and the furnace is goint to leave this city in ashes."

Batman remained silent once more. This piece of Joker's mind was not what he had expected. The Joker as a child…living within the most dangerous man in Gotham? One murderous brat that found joy on spreading chaos and pain, to ease the anger, and suffering inside him. God, how much did he have to learn…? It was like Joker had become human, too human. Batman remember what his own anger made him…the terror of the Night, the fear of the criminals of this city…violence and all. Was he that much different to his enemy?

Joker was sick, no doubt. Getting joy from murder was totally insane, but this…this was worse than Joker's insanity. The sane Clown Prince of Crime was even more dangerous than his insane counterpart, and morelethal. How far would the Jester go to share his pain in an effort to dilute the anger within him?

"Now you understand why I have to find him," Harley went on. "I need to reach him before the evil kid in him sinks to the deepest recess of the anger and violence. If Joker gets there…getting him out will be a lost battle and the only thing left for him will be to die…because he can't live like this. He hates pain…as much as he hates you."

"I know…" Batman responded. "He thinks I killed his family…"

"Did you?" Harley asked with child-like curiosity.

The Knight hesitated. Why did he have to share any more with her, of all people. Just because she had been Joker's psychiatrist didn't erase what she had done to be by the Jester's side; committing atrocious crimes right along with him,. But he was not a murderer and he needed to prove to her and himself…that he could do more and better than the Clown.

"I didn't." He finally let out.

"What took you so long...You're noteven sure, are you?"

"Yes I'm sure…what I'm not sure is if all this could have been avoided if I would have tried harder to prevent Joker from falling into that vat of chemicals…"

"It allowed Joker to exist…and that tamed the angry man inside him. I think it was best, but I'm worried of what he had become now. Why think about what ifs…?"

"Because this can't continue…there has to be a way to stop him for good."

"Then let me find him. I can make 'im stop." She said anxiously. "I was there inside his head once. I can do it again…"

"No Harley…not this time. Just let me know where I can find him. You know him better than obviously anybody else does, but this is even beyond your abilities and he wants to kill you. He will not let you get close to him. Better let me bring him back to the Asylum…I promise he will get the help he needs. Just tell me where he's hiding. You knew about his underground hideout.

"Harley shook her head. "I found it by chance, Bats. Wasn't even sure what I would find and I have been all over the city, checking in all the places he could be, and so far…nothing. He is not his usual self…so he is not visiting any of his old hideouts…he's using a new place…somewhere."

"But part of him is still the Clown…I heard him speak. There has to be a Joker pattern somewhere.""You heard the happy Clown speak…? Then there's hope…" She said to herself aloud joining her hands under her chin in anticipation.

"Harley, let me help…tell me what you know…where could he be hiding?"

Harley looked down to the floor and remained silent for a moment. "I…I don't know…but I know that he must have more hideouts I don't know about…and definitely this warehouse is not the only property he owns in  
the docks…"

"Batman! I have a message from the Mayor's office," Bullock said loudly as he entered the warehouse accompanied by other two officers. Harley looked over the rail to the large detective and tensed nervously. "He needs you at City Hall as soon as possible."

"Harley please let me do this my way…this is too dangerous."

"You had your chance. You failed, because you couldn't see beyond your cowl. Now is my turn to save my Puddin'…"

Batman tried to advance towards Harley in an effort to physically stop her from her quest, but she was prepared for the approach. She tossed a small yellow capsule forcefully against the floor and a thick cloud of purple smoke filled the entire mezzanine. Holding his breath, the Knight rushed into the thick of the cloud only to find the Harley was already gone. He heard fast footsteps on the stairs coming up, and he knew that Bullock had also noticed the cloud of smoke. The mezzanine cloud dissipated and he finally saw the Lieutenant and his two officers, with guns drawn, looking around inquisitively.

"You OK, Batman?" Bullock said advancing towards the Caped Crusader. "What was that?"

"That would have been Harley Quinn. She infiltrated your police force and the warehouse, but she is gone now…"

"Damn! What's wrong with that woman…?" Bullock said turning to the two officers. "Go downstairs and start checking everybody's identity. She could still be here…and I don't want any more surprises like this." The two officers nodded and headed down the stairs.

"You said something about the Mayor…?" The Knight asked.

"Yes." Bullock put his gun away. "He said it was very important and needed to see you ASAP."

"Thanks, I will."

Bullock looked around once more and nodded as he started walking down the stairs. Batman remained still by the rail. From the darkness of the ceiling, he could feel he was observed.

"Harley," he finally said, his voice barely a whisper. "I know your still here…please let me do this…"

"You didn't tell Bullass…" A voice whispered back. "—It's too late for you to do anything…I'm the only one that can help him now…"

He tried to say something when he realized that she had gone for good. It was useless. She was as stubborn as Joker could be. He started to head towards the stairs when a dizzy spell took over him forcing him to fall over the rail and hold tight until the world around him stopped spinning. This had been and intense few days, and his body was starting to betray him, but he knew that he couldn't rest much until he was sure that Joker was safely returned behind bars and from the looks of things…that was still a long ways ahead. He steadied himself on the rail and went down carefully. When he landed on the ground floor, his dizziness was almost gone, and he headed out the warehouse through the main gates.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker walked slowly towards the larger depot behind the building. His normally green, joyful eyes were now sad, and one could detect a certain amount of anger and hatred behind them. The Clown Prince was upset. Why did people keep standing in his way to greatness…? Why did people keep annoying him with their pathetic whimpers and screams, when all he wanted was to hear them laugh…loud and out of control, like he himself wanted to laugh? _'Laugh till you all die…,'_ he thought, trying to find something funny in all this. _'..because I can't even giggle…'_

Laughter normally gave meaning to his life, made him feel a lot better about himself and the world, but tonight, he didn't feel too much to laugh about at all. He was tired of this city pushing him around like a useless toy. He was tired of the city police interfering with his plans for the umpteenth time. Didn't they realize they were no match for him? _'/Stop fighting me Gotham….'_ he thought,_ 'I'll kill you all anyway. Maybe then you can make me laugh my head off while you die, because I need to  
shake off this lousy mood.'_

Lousy mood indeed when all he wanted to do was to die. If he was dead, he would not suffer anymore. Dead…like the woman that slept now in the crypt at the cemetery. Jeannie…he wanted to forget the name that brought so much pain…but how do you forget the most important thing in your life…without forgetting what you are? Who was he now…? He wasn't so sure anymore, but he knew that a man was the sum of the things he loved, the things he hated and the things that made him laugh. And unfortunately, Joker could only think of the things he hated…and he hated everything around him right now…. Where was the joy in his life and where was that damn Clown?

"Where are you, why are you hiding from me?" He mumbled softly as he entered the large warehouse.

"I'm right here behind you," Charley answered trying to catch up with him.

"Yeah…right." He responded gloomily. He was starting to find Charley very annoying, and difficult to deal with. She lacked the basics of good humor and was funny as a heart attack…hold on…heart attacks used to be hilarious…just as cancer was. She must be as funny as the Batman. She just became the focus of his hatred and hate was a sweet dish, best  
served cold along chilled red blood wine. Blood wine…Joker smiled. Blood.

"Why are we coming here?" She asked when she saw what was housed inside the depot. The interior of the warehouse was still in twilight, but the flares scattered all over the floor glowed with enough intensity to make the dark form of a black semi truck slumbering within the building like a sleeping giant. She could see the opened cab, while two men worked in it; the interior a combination of purple and cream leather. The large cargo trailer was solid black and the large initials USAF glowed in gold bold letters over the air force shield in the rear.

Joker ignored her, as he saw Blip approach him from the back of the truck. The Jester stopped his advance and let Michael meet with him

"Status…" He asked simply.

"Surprisingly, the engine is still working and we should have enough gas to at least leave this place. The men are changing a few tires that went flat from improper storage."

"What equipment do we have available…?"

"Truck is loaded with a lot of firepower and all is in working condition and I found two missile launchers we are loading now. Unfortunately I think that most of your gas bombs denatured…they don't have that characteristic green color anymore…"

"Don't worry…I know how to reactivate the toxin. Load them anyways. How soon can we leave?""At least…another hour."

"We need to leave sooner than that…there is some business we need to tend to. Were you able to talk to Luthor?"

"Yes…I told him we needed the rock andthe other...goodies as soon as possible, no matter the expense. He is asking for three hundred fifty thousand. That's a lot or money, Boss…you sure you want to go on with this?"

Joker's eyes narrowed. Blip felt his throat parched as he tried to swallow. "Get him his money and make sure he delivers soon. I need to be ready for them…no matter the cost. I want the delivery in my hands tonight…"

Michael nodded and headed towards the front of the truck while Joker resumed his advanced to the back end.

"I can't believe this…An Air Force trailer…?" Charley said.

"My home away from home. I have not used it in a while, but it's gonna be useful if we can get mobile."

"How did you get a hold of it…Isn't the government missing this from their parking lot?"

Joker sighed. This woman was too curious and lacked imagination. "And what makes you think the government is missing this beauty? They left it misplaced, just like the few pounds of plutonium they left misplaced in a Tennessee warehouse. I just happened to find it and put it to good use."

"Plutonium…you have plutonium too?" Charley asked with increased interest.

"None of your business, Princess." Joker said sternly but with a wide smile. "We need to leave before the police start searching in this area."

"This is going to be difficult to pass by…"

"What?" He asked with innocent forest green eyes.

Charley motioned towards the large letters on the trailer. "HELLO…Government truck….?"

"Told you nobody cares for this truck…and those letters are my trademark."Charley looked at him strangely. "United in Smiles And Fun."Joker giggled childishly.

"You are such a dork…" She said smiling. Joker stopped giggling and frowned. _'Genius…that's what you were supposed to say bitch…genius'/ _Joker thought as through his head came the picture of a corpse, rotting in the sun.

"There is only one little problem," Joker stated as Charley's face became serious. "Unfortunately there is no way I can fit all your kittens in there…unless we can fold them nicely in a drawer…"

"And what do you want me to do…?"Charley objected as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not leaving my team behind, Joker."

"No, no, no. Not after all the hardships I went to get your cattery back." Joker put a pensive face over a crooked finger. "But it is a matter of physics. I can't fit all your staff…so why don't we divide them, where only the most valuable members stay with you and the rest wait until I can get Carl to…"

"I'm not leaving anybody behind." Charley insisted.

"You know you are a difficult woman to deal with?" Joker retorted angrily. "No wonder nobody has married you yet…"

Charley frowned. "Call your transport…we all will leave this place at the same time…"

"I don't know if Carl could make it here in time…he was doing me a favor…"

"Then we wait for Carl…" Charley retorted bluntly.

"Did I also say you were stubborn…?" Joker's forest green eyes narrowed to tiny slits.

"Learned from the best…now take it or leave it…"

"FINE!" Joker conceded loudly, while pulling his cell phone from his jacket. "Hey Carl…did you take care of the pig and his car? Good…Well, I have need of you again. I need you to get me a van, a large van…yes. I need you to bring it to the exact place where you dropped me. And I need the favor yesterday..." Joker made a pause to smile at Charley. "I know, but I need to move out of here. Do your best…see you."

"Happy now?" Joker stared at the Leopard leader who just looked back at him. "Why are you looking at me like that? You wanna have sex now? I'm not in the mood, Princess…"

Charley glared. "I was just thinking, Clown…All these months I've worked for you…and our deal is still like it was at the beginning…you still owe me a city…"

"And I will give you a city…but first, I need to finish what I started. The show is over when the last bat dies."

"That's the other thing…You haven't even been able to get rid of the resident Night Beast!"

"I told you I did." The Clown Prince said as the air around him seemed to become darker and colder. "I just need a little bit of time, and we are all going to laugh at it in the morning." Joker said annoyed. "Be patient…"

"My patience is running thin, Joker…"

"Then bid on some from Ebay…" The Jester responded brusquely without lifting eyes from the Leopard leader. "Because you need to sit and wait…"

"Whatever, Clown…I will tell the team. Let me know when your transport arrives." She turned around and started to leave when he turned back and stared at the Clown Prince. "Don't you ever think of double crossing me, Joker, or I will make you suffer in ways you have not imagined yet. I'm not happy when people take me for a fool."

"You're not a fool dear…just a bitch. And no…Though I hardly think you can teach me anything new about pain…I don't want to see you angry either. Not when we are so close to success…ruins my appetite to see a fat cat with a tantrum..."

Charley opened her mouth and narrowed her eyes, ready to fight back the insult when she noticed the sardonic smile in the Jester's face. He would just enjoy it if she released her anger. She would get even later…  
She turned on her heels and left towards the entrance of the warehouse. On her way out she saw Blip approaching Joker and gave him a nasty gare.

"Wheeew! That was mean. You told her…?" Blip said standing in front of Joker, annotating things in his portable computer.

"Yes…and she was not too happy about it. I hate royalty…maybe it's time for a /coup d'état/." Joker said looking at the hacker with tender eyes."She might contact you about her staff and the transport arrangements."

"What transport arrangements…?" Inquire Blip with a confused look in his face.

"I made the arrangements with Carl. So don't you worry," He motioned to the trailer. "Just keep her team under surveillance and get this thing working fast enough to get out of here before Batman starts doing rounds. And let me know when Carl arrives…"

"We'll be ready to leave like in twenty minutes and Luthor's secretary called. They sent what you requested as an overnight delivery via special courier…It should be arriving tonight sometime. Even gave me the  
delivery address…"

"Good." Joker responded with a smile. "I'll have Carl pick it up so call him with the delivery information. Did you take care of the computer at the hideout?"

"I transferred and infected the hard drive, but they still have the hardware. Hopefully there will be nothing left there for them to use against us, but I have to admit I've never had to destroy a drive from a remote location. I'm praying that the virus I uploaded into it did its job well."

"You've never disappointed me…We now have to worry about updating our internal security…incase the Bat or the pigs can use something from the hideout." "There wasn't much left in the hideout…Everything was on that computer."

"Good job, Blip…Do you have Gordon's cell phone still with you?"

Michael pulled the Commissioner's phone from a back pocket. "Why?"

Joker's carved smile widened evilly as he grabbed the phone. "I feel like playing tonight…maybe then I can shake this damn gloomy mood I am in with a few dead people from this city…a few hundred will do nicely, don't you think?"

* * *

There you have it...Hope you like it. TBC


	40. Armageddon

_**Author's note:** Hi guys...Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry for the delay posting but issues prevented me from posting. First...Heath's death made me see life in a different way so I decided to go and try to do a little more with my time, so I will be taking some continued education classes and started drawing again. Life is too short, better enjoy it to the most. Second, my dad was sick, so I had to take time from writing to take care of him while he recovered. Hope you guys understand..._

_Well the good thing is that I'm on track and hopefully my energy is completely recharged. I'm ready to bring you the last few chapters of the story with renewed muse and inspiration. One of the things I did, because you guys deserve it, was to find a beta to go over my chapters. As you all know, this is not my native language, and you guys have been very kind in following (and hopefully enjoying) the story amidst a sea of grammar and syntactic blunders that put me to shame. So a brave soul came on board to help me with the structure and construction of the story. I want you guys to welcome...the great KICHI...yes, my new beta. Hope that between us we can make this story far more enjoyable. _

_Lastly. Please review... I love hearing from you all even if it is to point out a comma out of place or a chronology issue. I learn from your kind reviews and love knowing that you are enjoyng the story, so please let me know if the story is of your liking as well. One thing though...and I speak from experience. I welcome ALL types of reviews but there is one thing that I don't tolerate...senseless FLAMING. I think it is not only rude, but fruitless, because it doesnt help the writer in any way. And there is another thing I hate and its people that hide behind anonymous names so they will not be caught when flaming...well, for them I have to say this...STOP THAT. It denotes cowardice, and immaturity. We are all mature here and aspiring authors. I'm sure we can do better than that and what we need is constructive criticism._

_Enough of my venting...just wanted to let you guys know that you all are important to me and I have not forgotten the fans. Yes...and that is the reason I write...for you all. Because like me, you like stories with the Clown Prince that are more than a regurgitation of the cartoons and hopefully are as entertaining. Don't take me wrong...I love my BTAS, but I think its time to change. New times, new views...and I want to share my views on the Joker wiith you. That is why this story is slightly different than what you are used to reading. And I thank you for accepting it, and make it what it is. THIS APPLAUSE IS FOR YOU ALL... (claps)._

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and related characters belong to DCCOMICS_

_Disclaimer 2: There are instances of MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Reader discretion is adviced._

**Chapter 40: ARMAGEDDON**

Batman walked out of the warehouse and onto the artificially lit docks. The air had started to cool off in what promised to be one of the coldest nights of the year. The entire stretch of land was illuminated by portable street lights that the police had scattered along the road. Night had come quickly in Gotham, but for Batman, this had just been an extension of the last few sleepless weeks that had merged into one long and exhausting nightmare. _'When will the nightmare end?'_ the Dark Knight asked himself, trying to imagine where the escalating violence would lead. He had been in the dark with the Joker's behavior and just when he thought he knew his enemy, he had been shown just how little he knew the Clown Prince, and worst of all, how far he was from getting close to the Clown's trail.

What now? Joker needed to be stopped at all cost before his killing spree claimed more lives, but how was he going to handle a sane Jester? The insane Clown was always good at littering the city with clues and leads that eventually led to his arrest. Maybe because he wanted to be arrested. The Knight shook his head as Harley's voice resonated loud in his mind, _'When he is happy, the killing will stop and he will just fool around with you.'_ Could Joker really be that predictable?

But that was the insane Joker, and the one he was facing now was playing his game in the dark, hiding under his nose, and not leaving a single lead as to his whereabouts. How was he going to find the Jester, when Joker was doing all he could to remain invisible? It was going to be tough. Batman saw Dick limping towards him and he rushed to meet him.

"You found anything?" Nightwing asked.

"Harley. She had a few interesting things to say about Joker's psyche."

"What was she doing here?"

"She was looking for leads to Joker's whereabouts, just like us. Unfortunately I don't think she knows where he is, but she tried to explain to me Joker's issues with anger and if her theory is right a sane Joker is much more dangerous than the insane clown."

"What? You believed what that crazy woman said?"

"I'm not losing perspective of who she is, but what she saidmade a lot of sense to me. She had seen a side of Joker that I don't think anybody else has. It was a side that is very angry and dangerousa side that will destroy this city if left unchecked."

"I don't knowthis is all too weird. And it's even weirder that you keep trying to get her to help."

"I understand your skepticism and you will understand once I tell you the entire conversation. Right now the Mayor wants us to go to City Hall for a meeting" Batman said looking around. "Where's Superman?"

"The situation in the Middle East got out of hand and he had to leave in a hurry. The Mayor also invited him to this meeting, which surprised me, so he said he was going to see us there. What do you think this is all about?"

"Don't know, but I just hope that it doesn't interfere with my investigation. We are getting closer to Joker, slowly and we need to stay focused. It's not enough, but this is the closest we've been to the clown's trail." Batman said as he wiped some sweat from above his lip. "Do you need transportation to City Hall?"

"No. I'm fine. I'm a little sore, but I think I can still drive the bike. See you there."

Nightwing headed through the group of ambulances towards his transport while Batman stayed behind for a moment to scan the scene around him. Though the amount of police officers and medical emergency personnel had dramatically go down since he was rescued from the warehouse, he still felt a responsibility to lend a hand, but the truth was that the work left in the docks was for the police forensics team. There really was no reason for him to stay.

He started walking towards the Batmobile while he remembered the writing inside the warehouse. That cryptic message made sense now after he had spoken to Harley_. 'The Beasts in and out'._ Batman was the Night Beast of Gotham, but there was another beast on the loose, the one that was inside Joker and the Clown knew it. '_Smile will set you free_'.Smile, laugh out of control like the Clown had done so many times. Only when Joker could get rid of that monster and recover his insanity, would he really be free of the burden of his pain. What an irony. A man had to lose himself totally in his madness to be freed of the pain of his own existence.

It was a sad irony, but he could neither lose perspective of the seriousness of the Joker's illness nor the danger this new Joker posed to the safety of the city. The sane Joker was ten times as evil, murderous and dangerous as his insane counterpart, because what fueled this Clown was an insatiable thirst for revenge. This revenge- against a world that the Joker believed was out to get him- was the product of uncontrollable rage. How far the anger and rage were capable of driving a man, and how could such a man be stopped? The final solution might be killing Joker before he could do any more harm, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not after all he knew now.

He had always considered Joker a disease. A cancer to society that had to be removed at any cost. He never doubted that concept because he had proof to back it up. Everything the Clown touched died horribly and painfully, only to satisfy the madman's twisted sense of humor. This cancer had touched him close, twice. He could not shake the horrible torture of Jason Todd at Joker's hand or the ordeal Barbara Gordon had to go through with the Clown. Many others followed them. How could he not hate the man who had committed those horrendous crimes?

No, Joker was not a saint, but until now, he had not seen the severity of the Jester's mental disease. Was the Joker evil, or could he have lost the ability to discern right from wrong? He wasn't so sure anymore. Anger was a bitter companion and Batman had tasted the bitterness of inner rage. But was a pathological inability to deal with anger Joker's fault, or a result of the circumstances that surrounded his existence? Joker said that when he'd been by his wife's side he hadn't felt he had to kill - that he was free from the monster within - could that even be possible? Could this monster be redeemed?

Batman arrived at the place he'd parked his vehicle, and from his belt ordered the shields down. The Batmobile was revealed as the protective skin slid out of sight, and the driver's door automatically opened at the Knight's approach. He entered and sat at the steering wheel pausing momentarily. His head felt in the clouds and he suddenly felt disoriented, the world slowly swirling around him. He closed his eyes and held tightly to the steering wheel while the door closed beside him with a soft hiss. He could not believe that the effects of Joker's attack still lingered. Batman knew he needed to rest, but he couldn't stop now that the Joker's trail was so warm. He opened a channel on the communicator in the dashboard.

"Alfred." Batman said in a weary voice

"Mother goose here." The warm and friendly voice of his butler responded on the other side. It felt good to hear that gentle voice again. "After the horrible news of what happened on the bridge and the Docks, it's good to hear your voice again, sir."

"Thanks Alfred. It's being a rough day." The Knight responded while putting on his seatbelt. "I need you to do me a favor. I need you to pull out all the reports we have about the Red Hood Robberies. I have to run through the case again."

"With all due respect, sir, I thought the case was closed. Joker was the Red Hood."

"You're right, he was. I just need to study some peripheral circumstances of the case. Trust me."

There was a short pause in the communication. Batman wished he could tell Alfred what he was searching for, but the truth was he was not sure what he was trying to find himself.

"I will have the files for your review sir." The Butler responded politely. "Are you returning to the mansion?"

"Not yet. The Mayor has called for a special meeting with Dick, Superman, and myself at City Hall. I will return after the meeting - and one more favor, Alfred."

"Yes sir?"

"Retrieve all the information we have about Boss Doyle. Associates, properties, financial information...everything you can gather. You might also want to extend the search to Salvatore Bianco. He was Doyle's Boss before he was murdered."

"Those files need to be close to twenty years old..."

"I know...do all you can."

"I will sir. Also I would like to let you know that after speaking with half of the executives from the Japanese manufacturer, I was able to find out that in the last six months three people have ordered those portable screens like the one Joker sent you. One of the buyers is a local."

"Do we have a name?"

"Iam P. Hunny from Galaxy Electronics. I made a search on the company and it has ties to Laughling and White broking firm. I found it slightly unusual since is such a small insignificant firm with not much stock value, not even worth investing."

"The name, Alfred...Iam P. Hunny. Join the initial and the last name and you get PHUNNY as in FUNNY...I AM FUNNY."

"Oh, my stars...That goes right down the Clown's alley."

"Indeed it does. And knowing Joker, Laughling and White could mean Laughing and White..." Batman said slamming an angry fist against the steering wheel. How could he have been so naïve? "Joker is involved with one of the most important brokers firm in the city. Guess who's been investing his money, right under our noses for at least ten years, Alfred...? I've been blind... Blind as a bat."

"It might not be too late to let the police know of the Joker's investments."

"Yes. Let's put an end to Joker's funding. Contact the Chief of Police and get them the details of our findings. They will be very interested in that." Batman put the Batmobile in drive. "I'm heading to city hall...talk to you later."

"Yes, sir. Mother Goose out."

Finally the circle was closing in on Joker. If he could cut all the cash flow to the Clown, he might be able to make it very hard for the Joker to hire muscle. Hopefully that would make a breach in the Jester's well-oiled machinery of terror. He could only imagine how many other companies were just fronts for the Joker's financial solvency in Gotham.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker sat comfortably in a small armchair within the large trailer. He had his eyes closed as if meditating and on his face, his wide, carved smile extended sinisterly. He was trying really hard to find something funny in all this mess. He had outsmarted the great Bat Detective, murdered and maimed over a hundred people, and made fun of the all-powerful Justice League. He was the King Jester of this city and nobody could stand in his way. What else did he have to do to stop feeling so angry?

Why was it so difficult to just forget this pain and this anger that were souring his normally happy mood? **THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE A PREDATOR, JACK AND YOU'RE HUNGRY**. He could hear the voice in his head. What did it mean? He was not a predator, he was a performer, but the stage didn't fill him anymore. He wanted to return to comedy, but how could he make people laugh when he didn't have a reason to laugh himself? **NO! NO COMEDY UNTIL YOU'VE SUFFERED ENOUGH**._ Not fair_...Joker thought. He needed to suffer some more? Why? Why was he the one that always had to suffer...? He was tired of suffering and he was tired of living this life as Jack. It was the city's turn and he knew how to cause pain...deep excruciating pain. Beside him, Michael sat with his laptop connected to the wall, his fingers tapping incessantly over the keyboard.

"You know that's very annoying, right Blip?"

"What?" Michael asked, obviously taken by surprise having thought Joker was asleep.

"The tapping...it's annoying."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I was just running an AI simulation of the neural network we designed."

"I didn't ask you what you were doing. I just said that what you're doing is very annoying." The Jester replied finally opening his eyes to glare hatefully at Blip. The hacker got the message immediately and avoided looking the Clown directly in the eyes. "How do you expect me to think with all that noise?"

"I'm sorry. I'll continue later..." Michael responded shyly.

"That would be very wise." Joker said rising from his chair and walking over to the hacker while studying the simulation on the screen. Michael just cowered against the wall. "You think that program is viable?"

"It w-works on the v-virtual simulation," Blip said nervously. "D-Don't see why it will not w-work in a r-real environment."Joker's smile widened. "You know the applications of this, don't you?"

"Unlimited...it's a very flexible program. Highly autonomous."

"Big brother is watching you...long after big brother is dead. True immortality."

"Or a virus...you could probably use this to infect other systems too."

"An intelligent virus...a virus with no cure and once the city is infected I will make AIDS look like the common flu. No system will be safe." Joker giggled. "Isn't that hilarious?"

"Yeahhilarious. Best joke in decades." Blip answered with a smile of complacence. The Jester lunged at Michael and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up from the chair and pressing him against the wall. The hacker started to gasp for air under the asphyxiating grip, holding onto the Jester's hands and trying to pull away- without much luck. Joker leaned over until he was within inches of the hacker's face.

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me why it is that I don't see the humor in this. It's not that I have not tried really hard, but the fact seems to be that I have lost the ability to find humor in murder. Why, Blip? Can you tell me?"

Michael put a lot of effort into getting the words out. "Because...(gack!)...Batman is not...dead?"

The Jester just stared at the hacker as if pondering the words that might explain his lousy mood. Blip was right. The main reason was a nocturnal pestthe Fliedermaus, who had not exited the stage yet. The phone in Michaels's pocket rang with his characteristic Star Wars theme.

"Now...THAT 'S annoying." Joker said cocking his head sideways. "Aren't you going to answer?"

Michael replied with a wet gurgle. Joker put a hand on Blip's jacket and retrieved the phone at the same time he let the hacker's neck loose. Michael fell over the desk gasping and coughing violently.

"Oh, it's the Melon Head..." The Jester said opening the phone to answer the call. "Hiya Lexy,how's life in Metropolis without your local boy scout...I'm the one suffering your headache now. What? Of course I transferred your money...I was there." Joker sat by the computer on the table while Luthor started to yell on the other side of the phone. "Don't know what you're talking about. I have a confirmation number. Tell you what...I'll check with my accountant and see what happened to the transfer, OK? I will call you in five. No, Lex, I'm not clowning around with your money, I don't play around with business like that. I will fix your problem because I need your shipment. Yes...bye."

Joker folded the phone again and set it gently in front of Michael who was still gasping and breathing heavily. "and after I fix it...I'm gonna kill himslowly and painfully. Nobody talks to me like that." The Jester sighed. "Sorry, Blip. Don't know what came over me. I have been losing control with this...anger. I'm ready to have this nightmare end, hear a good joke, and laugh myself to death. But instead it becomes more complicated. Lex is saying that he didn't get his money. Can you tell me why?"

Michael adjusted his glasses over his nose and without looking at the Jester, opened a browser window to a local bank. He entered the security window and navigated through a series of accounts. Selecting the one he was searching for, he expanded the latest data on the account.

"I don't (koff) know. I made the transfer myself...(koff, koff)."

"I know...I was there. Maybe we got the wrong account number..."

"No...(koff). It's right here. It was an account for LexCORP...and it was active at the moment of the transfer." Blip moved quickly from screen to screen and finally stopped at the account summary page. He pointed a trembling finger to the account information. "But the bank froze the transfer...and is denying me any further access to that account. They must've interfered with the account."

"Hmmm...wasn't that the Laughling and White account?"

"Yes. I better start moving funds from the other accounts before they freeze them too. I don't know if I can save all that money."

"Do your best, Blip. It's not your fault. I think that the flying rodent and his band of pigs are closer on our tracks than I thought. Cut any ties to other accountsI'm not ready to be poor now." The Jester said patting the hacker tenderly on his shoulder.

"I think the Laughling and White account is lost, sir.They might even have tabs to track my login. I'm going to try something else..."

"You do that, and make sure Melon Head gets his payment because I need his shipment delivered tonight. I didn't call a favor on the Injustice League for nothing. Call him to confirm the money went through. In the meantime, I'm going to return the favor to the Bat with interest. Maybe the dividend will be a good laugh at the city's expense. If I recall correctly...death in large numbers used to make me laugh. I can't wait for the last act to bring the Feds into this messthen it's going to be really funny."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was past eight. If the Mayor wanted to call for a meeting this late at night, it meant that it was very important. The only thing the Knight hoped was that it wouldn't distract him much from the Joker's trail. He was starting to close in on the Clown and the new leads looked promising.

Batman arrived at City Hall and the security guards, who had obviously been warned of his arrival, allowed him access to the building without much problem. He got into the elevator and reached the fourth floor where the Mayor's office was located. Getting off the elevator, he felt dizzy and had to hold against the wall to stay standing. It was worse than he thought. He needed to get some rest if he was going to stop Joker. Steadying himself with a hand on the wall he continued down the hallway, where a woman looked at him with great concern from behind the reception desk. He recognized the Mayor's secretary.

"Batman...you OK?" The woman asked as she walked around the desk to offer her hand at the Detective.

"I'm fine...just tired. The Mayor..."

"Is waiting, "the woman responded signaling to the doors behind her. "Please follow me."

The woman started to walk to the Mayor's office and the Detective advanced closely. She opened the door for the Knight and he entered after offering a grateful nod to the secretary.

Inside the large office, Lieutenants Montoya and Bullock were already waiting by the mayor's desk where Stratton sat with a very worried look on his face. On a small meeting table nearby, two suited men that the Knight didn't recognize looked over a bundle of papers. The one with the navy blue suit was talking over his cell phone, while the other, in a grey suit and sporting dark rimmed glasses seemed to be pointing at something on the papers he held in his hands. They both looked at him as he entered but quickly returned to their business, uninterested in his presence.

Nightwing entered behind him causing the same reaction in the two men, and Batman saw Superman landing on the balcony of the office and entering the room.

"Wellnow that everybody is here, we can commence." The Mayor announced rising from his desk and heading towards the meeting table. He motioned to the man in the grey suit. "Let me introduce to you Mr. Matthew Hampton from the Department of Inland Security and Captain Gregory Sanders, Chief of Special Operations for the CIA. They both have very important information to share with tonight."

"Good evening gentlemen," Hampton said leaving his bundle of papers to walk to the center of the room, with his eyes fixed in the man with the cowl and long cape. "As Mayor Stratton said, there is important business that brings us here tonight. We have a delicate situation that could spell disaster for the safety of the entire country and we count on your help to solve this problem."

"I would appreciate if you will get to the point, Mr. Hampton. We are all very busy with our own problems." Batman responded. "We have a psychopath loose in the city..."

"Yes...to the point." Hampton said sardonically. He extended a hand over to his briefcase on the conference table and pulled a printout of a playing card divided diagonally in half. The top was a colorful smiling Joker picture on a white background while the bottom was the negative version of a somber looking Joker over a black background. "You will probably recognize this..."

Batman looked at the printout with obvious concern. "Where did you get this?"

"That, Mr. Bat is classified information, but isn't that the calling card of one of your most notorious criminals?"

"Joker attacked your systems?" Nightwing said looking at the Caped Crusader. "I thought we had warned you about the possibility of this happening."

"And we received the warning, but I'm afraid it arrived too late." Sanders explained. "A few days later we got... this...from one of our networks."

"Where exactly did Joker hit your network, Mr. Sanders? It's important that we know." Batman asked trying to remain as calm as he could. This was his worst nightmare evolving in front of his eyes.

"I said that's classified..."

"Stop beating around the bush..." Nightwing spat furiously advancing a few steps towards the government official. "Don't you know who are you dealing with? This is the Joker."

Sanders stepped between Hampton and Nightwing. "Now kid, there's no need to lose our cool over this, so why don't you step back a little and just answer our questions."

"In order to have Inland Security and the CIA involved in this investigation, the breach had to be in a very sensitive areadid he attack the Pentagon computer mainframe?" Batman continued as he analyzed the situation that reminded him of Blip's previous attack to the nation's defense system.

"I'm not saying this again, Mr. Bat..." Hampton retorted angrily. "That's classified so..back off."

Batman tossed the Joker printout to Hampton's face. "Then let me supply you with some declassified information on the man who sent you this note. He is a highly disturbed mass murderer, who finds it very funny to kill people just for laughs. The more people he kills, the happier he is. Now, Mr. Hampton, whatever Joker did to your system, was done with the sole purpose of seeing people die...a few hundred to a few thousand, depending on the Joker's mood and knowing him like I do, I would go for the latter. I can only help you if you tell me exactly what he did."

"Excuse me Mr. Bat, but this is still going to stay classified." Hampton said smugly. "This is a government matter and we are here to ask questions not to ask you to join the investigation, so if you would be so kind and just limit yourself to answering them so we can continue"

"That attitude is a grave mistake Mr. Hampton." Superman said, concerned on how far the verbal war would go if the government official kept pushing the Detective's buttons. Batman was not a patient man, especially where the Joker was concerned. "The Batman has been the only law enforcement element that has been able of successfully neutralizing the Joker before."

"Only to have him escape again and again, may I remind you." Hampton adjusted his jacket and his glasses. "And law enforcement is not a word I would use here. This Bat does not carry a badge..."

"The name…is Batman..." The Knight let out angrily between gritted teeth. Superman put a reassuring hand on the Detective's shoulder.

"Mr. Hampton, he might not wear a badge, but he keeps this city safe just like any other police officer in this city."

"I didn't come here to discuss how you go about law enforcement in this city, Mayor Stratton. I was told that the Bat-man here was an expert on Joker and that we could use his information, unconditionally, to accelerate the arrest of this madman. So if this...vigilante just volunteers the information we need, we could depart and leave him to his...law enforcing." Hampton's tone was acid and hateful. Batman just glared at the government official.

"And what makes you think you can stop Joker?" Nightwing said. "If I remember correctly...this madman escaped a government secured facility,the Slab,and released with him some of the most dangerous meta humans on the planet, and you were not able to stop him. It took a few superhero teams and a lot of effort to lock him up again and clear the mess he left behind. We were there Hampton...where were you?"

"I don't like that tone of voice, kid. And we learned from our mistakes." Sanders said. "We are not going to underestimate this man again."

"You didn't seem to learn the right lesson the first time if you are trying to arrest the Joker by yourself again, Mr. Hampton. This is not going to work if we are left in the dark..." Montoya participated.

"Ladies...gentlemen, please..." Stratton mediated. "This discussion is getting us nowhere and I would appreciate it Mr. Hampton if you were a little more polite when referring to the Batman and the Police. They both do the best they can to keep this city safe."

The phone in Stratton's office rang twice. They all looked at the phone curiously. Who was calling the Mayor's office this late at night?

"The answering machine will pick up" Stratton started to explain. "Don't worry."

The answering machine in the Mayor's phone did kick in, but a few seconds later the intercom beeped twice.

"Sally...this is an important meeting" Stratton said apparently to thin air.

"I know sir and I'm sorry, but the man that just called said to the answering machine that if you didn't pick up the phone he was going to kill all the people on the phonebook whose last name started with S and he was going to work his way up the alphabet. Thought it was important...and I took the call."

"That would catch my attention too..." Nightwing whispered by Batman.

"That has to be our Clown..." Then Knight responded.

"Good call, Sally, put him through," Stratton said picking up the phone. "Hello, Stratton speaking. Yes, Mr. Jokerthis is a meeting about you...and yes, he is here too. One moment..." The mayor turned on the speaker phone. "You're on."

"Good evening gentlemenit's good to see you still care about me. It would've devastated me to know that you forgot about me so soon, and would have forced me to make good on my threat. That way you'll remember who controls this city. Made you pay attention, didn't I? Good thing is. I don't feel like killing you now...at least not yet." The Joker said as he started to laugh hysterically over the phone. "Hiya Bats...missed me?"

"What have you done this time, Joker?" Batman asked.

"What do you mean? I've been a saint...How's Gordy?" The Jester said letting out an angry snort. "I hope he died, but knowing the Commissioner's luck, he's probably recovering in some hospital in this city, isn't he? I had so many plans for him. He's one lucky pig!"

"No thanks to you!" Nightwing spat angrily.

"Oh Nightingales are in season...don't get your feathers all ruffled up, boy. I'm not done with Gordy. I will take care of him sometime later. I did Robins, and Bats are my priority nowthen I will hunt down gothic crows so get your coffin ready."

"Joker please, stop before it's too late." Batman asked.

"Whoa! I didn't know you could beg...it sounds good. Beg me some more, come on! Can you do it while groveling on the floor?"

"I know about your pain Joker and I understand how it makes you feel, but innocent people don't have to pay for your lack of humor." There was a moment of silence on the phone. Batman wasn't sure if the Clown was still on the line. "There's people who can help you..."

"Really?" Joker finally responded in a loud falsetto. "And who do you think should pay then? Because somebody is responsible for the way I feel. Maybe it was my parents, maybe it was you...maybe it's the whole world. I don't know anymore, I'm just angry...all the time. Do you realize how it feels to not see the funny side of murder anymore...? I'm not a happy man and I think that this city needs to see how horrible it makes me feel. Just a little of my pain, Bats, so they get to know me a little better. Maybe the world needs to feel my pain too...so they all can understand me better."

"But that is not going to take your pain away, is it? Neither is it going to make you laugh. You know it."

"What's he talking about?" Hampton asked the Mayor who just answered back with a shrug.

"Since when did you turn into my psychiatrist, Bats? Leave me alone and die like you're supposed to." Joker protested angrily.

"Joker, listen..."

"No, you listen, Bats. I didn't call to have a psychotherapy session with the man wearing the black leotard that believes to be a gigantic rodent. Just wanted to tell you how upset I am that you started sticking your large pointy ears into my financial affairs, and I plan on retaliation for that. My stocks are down, and I know it was you who devaluated my market value."

"Now that would be enough!" Hampton said loudly advancing to place himself between the Detective and the phone.

"Who the hell is that?" Joker asked between giggles. "Sounds like Barney after a dose of helium and a severe case of the flu...somebody put that thing out of its misery. Please!"

The government official snorted. "My name is Mathew Hampton from the office of Inland Security and in name of the government of the United States of America I demand you surrender or be prepared to suffer the consequences of your transgression, Joker. The President will not tolerate an aggression like this..."

"Whoa...are you threatening me? You got balls, Hammy. Do you know who are you dealing with?"

"A demented sociopath with delusions of grandeur...and I'm quoting your file Mr. Joker. It seems it is you who don't know who you are dealing with. This is not 911, sir. This time we are ready to take action and retaliate with the severity needed to stop this threat and after reading your file, I would say you are hardly a threat..."

"You...you..." Joker responded angrily. His voice was more like a deep growl over the phone. "I think you stopped reading my file too soon. Did you get to the part that says that I like killing people...in large numbers and usually in multiples of ten or twenty...? I don't care who you are or who you represent, Mr. Hampton,I will kill you...because murder makes the Clown in me very happy."

"If you were planning on intimidating me..."

"No. Not intimidate. I really wanted to terrorize your world and don't think for a moment that I don't know why you're in my city. Your President got my Christmas gift and it's making him and all you bureaucrats shit your pants... you are terrified of what I can do. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah…BOOM! And you people are all dead..." The Jester busted into a wild, laughter.

"The government is not afraid of you, Mr. Joker..."

"Damn... That just means that I have to try harder. Let me think what I can come up with, 'cause I'm very resourceful. And it's not the government who should be afraid. The President has his own bunker, dumbass, but where is your family going to hide if I decide to blow up DC? Doesn't the thought scare you, Hammy, even a little, that I will blow your little family to smithereens?"

"Joker pleasethink for a moment. This is not worth it." Batman said trying to bring some sense into the Jester's discourse.

"Oh shut up, Bats. I'm not talking to you. Why you don't just curl up in a ball, die...and leave me alone!" There was a short pause over the phone. "Thanks to you, I'm having a headache nowBlip, get me an aspirin, fast!"

There was a loud click and the call was interrupted.

"Way to go, freak!" Sanders said to the Batman while retrieving his phone and going to a corner to talk.

"What the hell was that...?"

"That, Mr. Hamptonwas the Joker. Thought you knew who were you dealing with?"

"He's nuts..."

"No, more than that," Batman said. "And that makes him extremely dangerous."

The phone rang and the intercom beeped. "Sir, Joker is back in line two..."

"Yes Joker...?" Stratton said activating the speaker phone and sitting on the table by the phone.

"I'm back after a well deserved Motrin break. Do you want to negotiate now, Mr. Government Man?"

"The government doesn't want to negotiate with you..."

"Really. Did you listen to anything I told you? Probably not, you're a government official, you're deaf by nature." The Jester sighed audibly over the phone. "But I can't force you to negotiate...so Ladies, germs, and urban faunatune your TV screens on tonight because Joker Productions proudly presents Armageddon in the global scale...Full coverage and commercial free. Wait until CNN hears my side of the story...and I want Stephen Spielberg to get the movie rights..."

"What are you talking about, Clown?" Superman interrupted.

"Oh wow...you still in town, Supes? I thought you would have left with your super tail between your legs after I played with you and your superfriends. I would go back to Metropolis and try to score with that girlfriend of yours before the sky starts falling down if I was you..."

"That is not funny" Nightwing spat back.

"That's the whole problem, Dumbwing...nothing is anymore. So maybe when the bodies start to pile as high as Mt. Everest I will remember why murder was so fucking funnyand then I can be whole again. And if it doesn't work? Well, it's always nice to see the world burn for the heck of it. Nero did it to Rome, right? I need to get me a lyre..." Joker started to giggle.

"What type of Armageddon do you have planned?" Batman asked.

"Oh didn't Hammy tell you? The government and its intrigues..." Joker responded humming the X-files theme song. "The truth is out there..."

"Whatever you need to talk about Mr. Joker...we can do it in private." Hampton said immediately.

"What? And miss the face of terror in the Bat when I tell him that I hacked into the department of defense and activated a large number of nuclear missiles that I plan to launch to forty-something other nations that will probably retaliate with their ownand OH MY! That's going to be a lot of missiles in the air..." Joker said as he started to laugh. "The headline news with my name in bold... The cities in ruins. The smell of fresh guano...I don't know about you but, to me, _that _is priceless..."

"That is going to start World War Three, Joker." Superman said gravely. The thought of the death toll was unimaginable.

"I know, I know. Isn't that beautiful? Chaos on a global scale is as sweet as jelly on a biscuit. And the Batman wanted to test the limits of my patience...take that Bats..."

"How long before your attack?" Stratton asked nervously.

"That ishow Hammy would say...classified information, Mr. Mayor. But I can give you an ETA between now and just before the Bat diesgive or take. But that is not the best part...you wanna know what's even better? If they try to mess with the program that activates them or physically move the missiles...they are just gonna go kablooie, right here in the land of the free. That's why Hammy is in your office...because the government doesn't know how to stop my little Christmas gift from providing a fireworks spectacular for all the world to see. "

"You realize the seriousness of this, don't you Mr. Hampton?" Stratton said glaring at the government official who stared back defiantly. "And you were going to keep this information from us?"

"The government didn't want to cause a global panic..." Sanders started to explain.

"Global panic?" Superman protested. "How were you going to protect the country if you didn't tell us the severity of this situation...orare the lives of your people less valuable than revealing your government mistakes?"

"Oooh, the alien is angry..."

"Shut up, Joker..." Superman growled. "You don't know what you are about to start."

"Of course I know...It's called Armageddon. You've heard that word before, no? It's in that book...the bible." Joker said. "But I'm not all evil, you know? Deep inside me is a manyes, in pain, but who is willing to put back his whims selflessly for the good of the manywith a tag price of course. It's the patriotic thing to do in a capitalistic world. I will graciously pull myself away from the defense system, for the bargain price of two hundred fifty million dollars and ninety-nine cents...Isn't that the deal of a lifetime, folks?"

"That is ridiculous...preposterous."

"You know Hammy...you are really becoming very annoying. I don't like you and I don't like the way you sound. Makes my ears hurt. Let's make it three hundred million plus tax...just because I have to put up with your crap. And your negotiating skills suck big time.I'm voting for the competition next time. Heck...I'm voting for me."

"Jack, this is not going to solve your problem." Batman insisted.

"Oh yes it will. This money is gonna make up for the one you froze from my little investment firm."

"I'm talking about your anger."

"Let me be the judge of that. And Batsy, stop doing the Dr. Phil impersonation. You don't know anything about my anger You literally don't know Jack...(heh)...and you are about to die anyways, so in a week I will be a free Clown and ready for my close up. And from the looks of things, I'm gonna be performing to bugs, 'cause in case of a nuclear holocaust, the cockroaches will inherit the world. Man, how do you make a roach laugh?"

"I want to help you. Let me help you sort it out,but I need you to call off the attack first."

'No can do. For now accept or... accept my request and let me know your decision. The Mayor knows how to contact me...so I will be waiting for his email."

"I do?" Stratton said looking confused.

"In the meantime, let me blow up a school or twothat Arena was a total fiasco, though I'm really proud of the death toll at the bridge. Toodles!"

"Joker...NO!" Batman said trying to keep the Jester talking but it was too late. The Joker was gone and the line was empty. He turned around slowly and had all the people staring strangely at him.

"You said the Joker was in pain..?" Montoya asked. "I don't understand. The Joker is insane. What did you mean by that?"

Batman sighed. "It's a long story, but the Joker tried to recover his sanity as a means to defeat me. I don't know if he ever gained complete use of his facultiesbut now what is left is not only a crazy Clown, but an angry crazy clown. This so called sane Joker is much more dangerous than an insane one, because he has no boundaries, no limits to his sadism and his machinations. Humor is not his driving force anymore, just anger."

"You know that makes no sense, right?" Bullock said straightening in his corner.

"I know..." The Detective said. "It's difficult to comprehend until you have listened to the Joker..."

"But why begin World War Three?" Stratton asked.

"Because of the death toll. One or two murders have not helped Joker get away from his pain and his anger,so he is going for the triple digits this time."

"What caused all this pain for Joker?" Superman asked. "Or is this all in his mind?"

"The anger has always being there. When he took the acid dive...the person he was died and the criminal known as Joker was bornwith no memory of who he had been...he traded his pain and his anger for total insanity that allowed him to create a past and a present depending on his mood, not on his memories. And the pain faded away in his madness."

"That is the most irrational theory I've ever heard Batman." Bulllock protested. "And I never expected hearing that from you. Maybe you need to go and get some rest...this has been a lot for you and your friend."

"I have to agree with Harvey. You are almost justifying Joker's violence..." Montoya contributed. "I'm not so sure about thatnot after all he has done."

"What he has done, Detective, is nothing compared with what he can do now. Joker, the crazy Clown is a tamer version of what an angry Joker is capable of doing..."

"What do you suggest we do...?" Mayor Stratton asked. "We need to stop him somehow..."

"Excuse me" Hampton interrupted by waving a hand in front of the Mayor. "Have you forgotten we are here? We are in charge of the investigation."

"And you were also holding information from us, Mr. Hampton." Batman said. "We need some time to organize...so it will be a good thing if you tried to convince the President to negotiate with the Joker, until we can locate and neutralize him."

"The President was very clear in his instructions..."

"Matthew...SHUT UP!" Sanders roared while Hampton looked at him with surprise. "This is no longer a confidential issue after the Clown gave up the entire plan to them. It's time to take the gloves off and get our hands dirty. Joker needs to be stopped, somehow...and our methods have not worked. I had the Mayor's phone call tracked and I doubt it originated in the island of Tuvalu…they were unable to give me a real location. Since we don't have a location for the Clown, we can't do anything else..." The CIA officer looked at the Caped Crusader with great interest. "I guess you have a plan, Batman..."

The Detective nodded.

"It was supposed to be our back-up plan..." Superman participated. "But a member of the League infiltrated the Joker's gang."

"Then we know where he is, yes?"

"Not yet." Batman replied looking at Nightwing who was gaping at him in shock. "We lost communication with the spy while we were still at the docks. We suspect communications were difficult during the whole rescue mission because there was a risk of detection. In the meantimewe need to be able to buy time. Convince the President that he needs to negotiate with the Joker and keep him busyuntil we hear from our contact."

"And if your contact is dead?" Montoya asked. "Have you considered that as the reason why you haven't heard from your spy?"

"We can't say for sure, but that doesn't seem to be the case." Batman said. "Our contact is a telepath, and death would have been something we would have detected immediately."

"Batman...it's J'onn..." Superman interrupted. "He is a little weak but he just tried to contact me..."

"Do we have a location...?" Batman inquired.

"He's still at the docks...the building has large letters on the front... USAF, and its located near the Cranes." The Man of Steel closed his eyes and concentrated. "The link with John is weak and blames his weakness to Joker venom on Martian metabolism, but he says he's been loaded into a car along with other leopards... they must be getting ready to go. J'onn says he doesn't know how long he can keep the link..."

"Well...what are we waiting for...?" Bullock said. "Let's get moving...we have an angry Clown to catch."

Superman left the room through the balcony and into the sky as fast as a bullet. Both Montoya and Bullock left the office towards their cars. Batman and Nightwing remained momentarily behind along with the two government officials.

"Mr. Hampton..." Batman spoke to the Inland Security officer. "This is a time to work together, not to antagonize each other. I hope we can leave our differences aside and cooperate." Hampton snorted disdainfully. "I'm sorry to hear that..."

"The Joker said he wanted me to give him the government's decision," Mayor Stratton started to say as the Detective and Nightwing started to leave the office. "How am a going to do that?"

"I would check your mailbox, Mr. Mayor." Nightwing said. "He probably sent you a contact number or address in an email." Both heroes left and Stratton sat behind his desk turning on the computer. He accessed his email account and to his surprise he saw a new email message that read:

**WITH ALL MY HATE...****FROM UNCLE J...**

"That Clown had access to my personal emailI'll be damned."


	41. Lessons to Remember

_**Author's Note:** Hey guys...another week another chapter. Hope you like what I have in store in this little installment. Thanks for the support you guys have offered this story, and it means a lot because this is my FIRST REAL story...so the warm response has a special meaning for me. _

_The story is quickly developing toward the final confrontation, so expect shorters scenes, and more action (I know that the beginning of the story was kind of slow so I hope this compensates...) I tried to make the characters as believable as I could, and really hope I have succeeded. My only mission is to entertain you..._

_Lastly, please review. Let me know what you think, what you like, what you dislike, and even tell me your ideas of what you think will happen. I just love hearing from you guys, even if just to tell me about the missing comma...There would not be a story if there was not people to read it. I owe it to you all. _

**BETA**: Like always, this chapter has been BETA by the wonderful KICHI. Thanks for the help...

Now enjoy...

**CHAPTER 41: Lessons to Remember **

Batman left the Mayor's office followed closely to by Nightwing who was unusually quiet.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about the spy." Dick finally said with some resentment.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't much of a plan, just a safe guard. I was sure we would not have a problem bringing the Joker down in the warehouse. Even Superman suggested I keep it under wraps, just incase Joker could get a hold of someone close- like he did with Gordon. But we never thought we were going to need it."

"Yeah, but me, Batman."

"I didn't think it was important, we weren't going to use the spy. It was a mistake on my part, and for that I apologize. As if I haven't made enough mistakes on this case already..."

"Well," Dick began, forcing himself to act as if nothing was wrong. "What is the next step in this new plan?"

"We follow J'onn's lead. It's all we have."

"Superman said the signal was weak. You think Joker might've found out about the spy and this is just another carefully planned trap?"

"I don't know, but I don't see how Joker would be able to interfere with a telepathic link like J'onn's. And if Manhunter was exposed to Joker venom, we wouldn't have any way of telling how the toxin affects Martian metabolism."

"Why would Joker use venom on his own crew? Don't you think he wouldn't unless he suspected something?"

"It's a possibility, or maybe they were easy to transport if they were unconscious. I don't know."

"I'll still warn Superman. After all we have gone through with Joker this is just too easy."

"I agree. Let's just hope that we can get to that Clown before he blows up the entire planet."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Jester closed and tossed the Commissioner's phone over to the table where Blip was working with his computer, and walked a few paces back deeper into the trailer letting himself fall heavily on the green chair by the wall.

"Oh Blip. Chaos is so…rejuvenating. I feel lighter, like a great weight is about to be lifted from over my shoulders. I will soon be free. The world is gonna blow up and then we enter in the Mad Max era…with a large smile in our faces."

"Uhm-hmmm."

Joker rested his chin on a propped hand. "Maybe I should just stuff that stupid laptop up your ass without lubrication, and then take my time to kill you too, kind of painfully if you don't mind. What you think, should I pull your skin off strip by strip or poke your eyes out?"

"Whatever makes you happy, Boss." Michael said automatically as he worked through screens in his laptop.

"HA!" Joker proclaimed triumphantly pointing an accusing finger towards the hacker. "You're not paying attention to me. You know how much that bothers me, Blip."

"What? I'm t-trying to work here…"

"Stop stuttering, it's annoying." Joker said icily. "You don't seem to be so happy yourself. Why?"

"I-I am…really. But right now I'm more concern on k-keeping the pigs away f-from our money. They just f-froze another account.."

"Oh. How much have I lost?"

"Roughly… a little over a m-million." Michael answered timidly.

"Now THAT doesn't help my mood…" Joker let out with a sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Michael swallowed hard but his throat was suddenly parched. "I-I'm d-doing my best. I s-swear."

"I know," Joker purred softly, getting up from the chair and walking towards the hacker. All of a sudden it felt very cold around Michael. "I would have killed you if you weren't, but is there any way of stopping this financial catastrophe? I need to keep my hedonistic lifestyle and for that I need lots of cash- and I mean loads of it. You're my little wizard of Oz, Blip, work your magic." Joker wiggled his fingers on top of Michael's head as if sprinkling pixie dust.

"I-I've created a d-dozen ghost accounts and h-have transferred about h-half of the assets. I just c-can't go any f-faster." Michael said as he eyed the towering Jester beside him who was attentive to the deals in the small laptop screen with a sinister frown. Blip had a chill, and suddenly got startled by his ringing phone. The hacker looked at the ID screen and sighed in relief. "Carl j-just got here."

"Oh great! It's time to get rid of some excess baggage, you know, trim that extra fat around the waist." Joker said applauding softly and waking to the back of the trailer while he pulled his cellular phone. "Hey Princess, your royal transport is here. Yes, meet me in front of the warehouse with your boys, OK?"

"I w-will stay here trying to clear up this mess, OK Boss?"

Joker flashed a quick thumbs-up as he jumped off the back of the trailer and exited the building. A few meters away towards the office annex of the warehouse, the Jester saw the two bright beams of Carl's van and he waved effusively. Carl opened the door of the driver's side and stepped out of the vehicle waving back.

"Any problem finding your way back this time?" Joker asked with a cynical smile.

"No, but you need to know there is a lot of movement in the other side of the docks. I'll be careful when exiting."

"I wonder why? Must be because of all the crazies loose on the streets." Joker giggled. "Thanks for the advice, but I took notice. Did you bring my shipment?"

Carl moved to the back of the van and opened the door. Behind the back seat, was a medium sized cardboard box with the LexCORP logo on all sides that he immediately picked up and handed to the Jester.

"And I killed the courier like you requested. Bloody as hell, a real mess." Joker felt the box's weight in his hands, then set the box on the floor, and smiled.

"That will teach Lex not to yell at me. You're a sweetheart, Carl. Thanks." He pulled a knife from his jacket, opened the top of the box and examined the contents meticulously. He pulled a small modified gun that he scrutinized attentively. The gun, made of a shiny golden metal, had a bulbous appearance, with a large prism covered barrel, off centered from the gun axis was a metal canister that had two blinking lights.

"What is that? It has that Star Wars look to it…." Carl said enjoying the science fiction look of the weapon. Joker eyed him innocently.

"What is it with you people and Star Wars?" Joker said with a frown. "It's a brush, Carl, can't you see? All of a sudden yellow is my favorite color."

Carl raised an eyebrow. The weapon looked nothing like a brush, but if the boss believed it was a brush, he was not going to argue. At least not with the Joker, he knew better. Carl saw the Clown Prince put the strange-looking gun back and pull a very ornate dagger, probably a foot long with the handle made out of what looked like gold. The handle had encrusted stones along its length, and had a dragon sculpted at the very end. The blade consisted of a long, flat, metal piece that held a sharp piece of green glass of the same length, both ending in a very sharp point.

"Wow, is that emerald?"

"No,something even better." Joker said as he looked at the dagger closely and felt its weight in his hands. "Luthor was right. This is too bulky, but if he did like I told him…" He put the dagger back and searched deeper into the box when his face lit up with joy. He pulled a small box that he opened to expose the four green topped bullets inside. The green caps glinted in the same dark green color as the blade on the dagger. "Oh yes, he did. What…only four? Damn! should have paid that extra hundred grand he was asking for. Oh well, like my mother used to say 'make lemonade from your four lemons and add tons of water to make up for the rest.'"

The Joker started to laugh and pulled a small gun from his sleeve. Carl backed off when he noticed the Jester removing the two bullets in it, then inserted two from the box. He pushed the gun back inside his sleeve. Charley appeared from the side of the building. Behind her was her pet gunman Jake and following close behind them was the rest of the gang. Joker stood to greet her with a large smile.

"It's about freaking time, Joker. Why did he take so long to get here?"

"A sweetheart, isn't she?" The Jester said to Carl wiggling his eyebrows evilly. "And single…guess why?" Carl responded with a grimace, Joker smiled. "Business. Are your men ready, Princess?"

"Yeah. I divided the gang in two teams. Alpha will go in the van and Beta will go with you in the trailer."

"And you will be in…?"

"Beta of course. I'm going with you. Why?"

Joker picked up the box from the floor. "You know what I've been thinking, Charley? Maybe you should be going in the van with the Alpha team while the rest of the Beta team stays with me. I think it's much safer."

"Why did you change your mind now...? This was your idea."

"True, but then I thought, what would happen if I get busted and my best general is stuck with me. Who am I gonna call for support? You have a great tactical brain. You see the logic on this, don't you? Now, if you were somewhere else, you could organize a rescue mission or something."

"You don't want me with you…why?" Charley asked suspiciously.

"I just want some kind of guarantee that if I get stuck in battle, I have someone I could trust to bring in the reinforcements. Besides, I will have your lieutenant Jake, no? He can stay with me and become my link to you. He knows the drill, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but you changed your mind so quickly…?"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not doing this for you- it's me I'm worried about. But you have to admit that since I am the GCPD priority and maybe distance between us is our best means of survival."

Charley stared at the Clown in silence. "You did something really bad, and you want someone to cover your ass."

"Hmmmm…YES! That's it! And nobody can cover my sexy ass like you do." Joker said looking away sheepishly for a moment before walking back to the warehouse. "Look, I don't have time to debate this. You either take it or leave it, but there will be a bonus if you cover my ass well." The Jester started to sing 'I'm too sexy for my ass…too sexy by far.'

Jake approached Charley and whispered to her ear. "You don't believe him, do yeh?"

"I'm trying not to, but the more I think, the more he makes sense." Charley whispered back. "If the police are after him that bad, the best thing might be to stay away from him…"

"So you can clean up his mess later? I don't like the way the Clown said it."

Charley smiled. "Who said anything about cleaning his mess…? Just stay close to him and if you think that he's becoming a liability you know what to do."

"Can I just do it now and save you all that trouble?"

"Don't be impatient. I heard him talk before and the Clown, as crazy as he seems, is loaded with cash. Maybe we can get something more from him before the police gets him." She stepped aside and called the Boss who was about to enter the building. "Joker, you are right...I will agree to your plan, but Jake will be in charge of the Leopards while I'm not available."

"Sounds good, I like him. Have your Beta team join me in the warehouse we are boarding the trailer within the next few minutes." The Jester responded and continued humming.

"And when are we meeting again?" Charley said signaling the Alpha team to enter the van. Jake headed with the Beta team to the building.

"There's an apartment complex downtown that Carl knows- it's been his gang's headquarters for a while…I will see you there in a few days."

The Jester entered the metal building and started to walk along the trailer. He was quickly joined by Jake, Merckle and the rest of the Beta team. Charley joined the alpha team in the van and closed the door behind her.

"And when are we going to know when the Bat is dead, Joker?" Jake asked leading the Pack of Leopards.

"It's going to be all over the news in a few days. It's gonna be hard to miss." The Jester answered dryly as he stopped momentarily in front of two thugs who were having a smoke by the wall. "Hey you, the Cancer break's over. Start the trailer and get ready to go.. BLIP!"

The two men disposed of their cigarettes and headed towards the trailer cab. Joker turned around to face Jake and his team while he continued walking backwards towards the end of the trailer. He noticed the two headlights from Carl's van leaving the area fast. He was finally on his own. "Is that all the Beta team with you, boy?" Mountain man nodded suspiciously. "Good, then I would like to set the rules of the game. I don't know how this relationship between you and Charley works, but though I understand you are the Leopards' number one here I also know you don't like me and I will appreciate if you could just leave your prejudices behind and take my lead. I know this city and its local fauna better than you ever will. BLIP…COME 'ERE!!" Joker called aloud.

"As long as you make sense Clown, I'll do my best. But the Leopard's are not going to serve as your personal toys for you to play withand our pack leader is still Charley. She has the final word on any major decision of the team."

Joker turned around and kept walking. "I didn't expect any less from you, Jake. You're a very loyal soldier and I like that. You will make Charley proud." Joker stopped and the Leopards stopped a few paces behind. "BLIP…I NEED YOU RIGHT HERE…RIGHT NOW!!"

The oversized figure of Michael bounced off the back of the trailer and started to approach him. He was mumbling something under his breath.

"Boss…I was kinda busy." The hacker protested.

"Stop whining, this is just going to take a moment of your time- Here." Joker said handing the box to Michael who received it with a frown.

"Couldn't they have helped you?" Blip whispered resentfully looking over the Joker's shoulder to the Beta team.

"Them? Don't be inconsiderate, Blip. They have been through a lot." Joker responded pulling his .38 automatic and opening fire on the group of Leopards starting with Jake who got shot between the eyes. Like lightning, the Jester gunned down the entire gang in less than a minute. His marksmanship was impeccable and it had taken only forty-seven seconds. That must be a new record. He had outdone himself, like always. He walked over to the pile of dead gang members and looked around to make sure that no one was breathing. "No…I don't think they will be of any help now…"

"Oh, my God, Boss…"

"Not God here Blip..." Joker said walking back to Michael. His face darkened by a frown. "Just one… angry… Clown."

"But why?"

"Didn't you tell me you wanted to kill Jake? He was as annoying as Charley. That woman really believes she can play with the Clown and get away unscathed. Nobody plays with me, Blip and I was getting really annoyed, that's all. They were giving me heartburn…so I applied some Alka-Seltzer. " Joker waved his .38 before securing the gun back in his jacket.

"But-But she is going to be r-really m-mad when she finds out, she's gonna be a d-dangerous enemy."

"No more dangerous than me, believe me." Joker started to say when a rumble on the top of the warehouse got his attention. Then part of the ceiling opened up like the lid of a tin can and John Stewart, the Green Lantern, came hovering down slowly.

"It's over Joker. Surrender now."

The Jester looked up at the hole on the ceiling, paying attention to any unusual noise. "Where is the rest of the team, GL? Don't tell me they let you to do the dirty job all alone, like the green slave you are. Nice job Rover…SIT, ROLL OVER and DIE!" The Jester chuckled. "And who's gonna pay for that hole in my roof?"

The Green Lantern frowned. "I don't need the team to take you down, Clown, so just surrender and the police will be here shortly to take you back to your cell in Arkham."

"You're not man enough to stop me, Stewart, so why don't you go back to your ghetto. Come on Blip we have more important things to do than talk to this n--," Joker said turning around to face the hacker who was just looking at him with his eyes wide open in surprise when they was suddenly encased in a green cage. Joker smiled evilly and put his hand in the box. Behind him Green Lantern had landed and was approaching him angrily.

"I don't like you using that racist tone with me Joker. It angers me to see people like you who think you can discriminate by the color of someone's skin." Stewart said with a voice that sounded more like a growl. "I want you to kneel on the floor and put your hands on your head or I will make you kneel, your choice. And that goes for your fat friend too."

"Excuse me, Mr. Greenie, but I don't like it when YOU use that tone with me. You know who your dealing with, dog?" Joker retorted angrily looking at the hacker's eyes, now opened so wide that they seemed to pop out of his head. Small rivulets of sweat started to slide down the hacker's brow. The thick glasses were reflecting the angry GL now only a few feet behind the Jester with the ring in his hand glowing intensely. This Green Lantern was not happy. Joker whispered to Blip. "Steady…look at him, but close your eyes."

"A demented clown, who thinks he's God…deciding who lives and who dies at his whim. Not anymore, Joker. You've killed your last man tonight and I said…KNEEL!"

The green cage got smaller forcing Joker and Blip to the ground on their knees. The Jester closed his eyes, and holding the yellow bulbous gun in his hand turned around and fired at the Green Lantern…

"SMILE FOR THE BIRDIE!!" Joker yelled when a bight burst of yellow light filled the inside of the depot. When Joker opened his eyes again, there was no longer a green cage around him and Green Lantern was lying on his back a few feet away, moaning painfully on the ground. The Jester rose and walked towards the fallen hero who slowly tried to use his ring against the upcoming Clown. Joker kicked the hero with all his might in the abdomen, and stepped on Stewart's hand removing the ring from his finger.

"No, no, no. I'll keep this as a souvenir, thank you. Told you that you were not man enough to fight me, GL. I'm not your regular Clown and as you can see, I'm ready for you and your Idiot League. Thank Sinestro for the weapon that just defeated you, by the way." Joker said waving the little golden gun in his hand as he found a thick metal rod beside him. He put the gun in a pocket, grabbed the rod and swung it over his shoulder. "And just for the record…I'm not racist. I don't care if you're black, white or blue with red polka dots. It's when you're green and try to stop me when I want to have some fun that have an issue." Joker made a short pause as he concentrated. "I'll also have issues if you wear a cape and a cowl to look like a bat, but that is a whole different psychosis. You might be an angry green man Stewart, but I'm a lot angrier than you."

With a quick swing, Joker slammed the rod against the Green Lantern's chest and a cracking sound confirmed that he had broken some ribs. Stewart howled in pain and rolled to his side making the Jester burst in laughter. With a soft giggle he lifted the rod high above his head and let it fall with all his might over the fallen hero.

"HA! I want my candy, damn it! Joker screamed between cackles. "Maybe I need to hit this piñata just a wee harder, eh Blip?" The Jester landed the metal rod with all his might for a third time, making Stuart grunt as he spat blood on the floor. The Jester started to huff and puff. "No candy? I'm not buying a superhero piñata ever again… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Again and again he continued to hit the Green Lantern. Blood had splattered on the floor and the Jester's clothes, and Stewart was doing his best to avoid the savage attack without success. Green Lantern rolled over and started to crawl away with the aid of his right arm that was still the only extremity in one piece. He needed to get away from the Clown as fast as he could but the Clown Prince stopped his escape as he slammed the metal rod against Stuart's back. The hero fell on his stomach with a painful groan. Another blow to the Green Lantern's back and the man didn't move anymore. Joker seemed to be having a blast for he had not stopped laughing throughout the beating.

"Joker …STOP!!" A loud voice rumbled like thunder. The Jester stopped his brutal attack to see Superman flying down from another hole in the ceiling. John Stewart lay unmoving, covered in blood and breathing shallowly on the floor.

"Awww man…what a trip. And you have to interrupt me when I'm inspired." Joker said letting go of the metal rod and brushing wild green curls from his eyes. Superman landed a few feet away from him and stood menacingly, as he looked at Stuart's body on the floor. The Jester just smiled. "You know how expensive is it going to be to fix that roof if you keep poking holes in it? You guys don't know the meaning of private property, do you Supes?" The Jester shook his arm and a small gun popped from within his sleeve. The Clown Prince cocked the gun and aimed it at the Kryptonian.

"You must be kidding me…" Superman said advancing towards the Clown. "You should know better than that, Joker…"

"Actually I do, but I couldn't resist trying my luck. They don't call me crazy for nothing, you know?" Joker said opening fire. The bullets, instead of bouncing off the Man of Steel's chest, went in forcefully, ripping through fabric and steel-like flesh, and the pain was excruciating, forcing the Kryptonian to wince and bend over. Superman looked in surprise as two red spots that appeared on his chest and started to get larger. "April Fool's Superdope. The kryptonite bullets are my gift to you for Christmas. You can keep them close to your heart so you won't forget me as you die." Joker started to laugh.

Superman wobbled on his feet and finally landed hard on his knees. Joker walked hastily towards Blip who was staring at him speechless, still kneeling on the floor, and still holding tight to the box the Jester had handed him. "Let's go, Blip, the cavalry will follow these two and I don't feel like fighting them tonight." The Joker said going to the back of the trailer and jumping in. Blip looked at the Man of Steel who was doing his best to remain conscious. Michael then rose from the floor, turned around, and ran to join the Joker. The Clown closed the large back door as the trailer started to move, leaving the deadly aftermath behind.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The traffic had been a nightmare, especially after the Gotham Bridge had been closed as a result of the Joker's attack. Cutting through the city, even with the Bat-mobile at top speed, tripled the travel time to the cranes on the other side of the river. After all the drawbacks, Batman had been able to finally arrive at the area that J'onn had described to Superman telepathically. Two large cargo cranes towered over a series of warehouses, and he had to find the one with the large USAF letters on the entrance. It was more difficult than it seemed, since all the buildings looked almost identical in the dark of the night. He wished he could have received a telepathic image of the building he was going to raid, but his mind link with the Martian had broken off after the Joker's attack at the warehouse. That electric shock did more to him than he dared to admit, and he had to rely on Superman's description to find the building.

He finally saw an open warehouse where he could see the last two letters of the initials he was searching for. The depot's doors where wide open and the inside glowed with a dim light, that seemed to flicker unnaturally. He parked the bat-mobile and stepped out of the car, approaching the entrance carefully. Scattered flares on the ground created the eerie glow. Batman looked at the floor and saw tire prints. Something large had been housed inside this depot, and from the tire marks still visible on the floor by the entrance, he could guess it must have been something as big as an eighteen wheeler.

The Knight moved stealthily into the large empty warehouse when he noted the bodies piled to one side. He carefully walked toward the bodies and immediately recognized the Leopards dead on the floor.

"I tried to warn you, Jake." Batman whispered as he saw the now pale body of the thug with the hole in the forehead and the thick pool of blood on the floor underneath him. "But you wouldn't listen, would you?"

The Detective advanced and saw one more body on the floor. He walked over and discovered John Stewart's bloody body, stacked like trash against the wall. There was a bloodied metal rod wedged against John. The image of Jason Todd hit Batman suddenly as he knelt near the Green Lantern and felt for a pulse. To his surprise, John's pulse was still strong, despite his poor condition.

"Bat-Batman…" Superman called from a few feet away. The Detective rushed over to the Man of Steel and helped him on his back.

"What happened here…?"

"Joker…" Superman said trying control a bout of nausea. "How 's John…?""

"Alive. What did Joker do to you?"

"Kryptonite bullets…and they hurt like hell!!"

"Don't move, I'll call for help." Batman started to say when Nightwing entered the warehouse.

"Oh my God…what--?" Dick said horrified of the pile of bodies on the floor.

"Dick, use your communicator and contact the League. John has been badly beaten and Clark has been hit by kryptonite bullets. If we don't get them medical attention immediately, they will both die. You stay here with Clark." Batman rushed over to Green Lantern by the wall, and Nightwing knelt beside the Man of Steel.

"I will have Oracle relay the message, but, who did this…?"

"Joker. I don't know how he got the power to do this, but if he can take Green Lantern and Superman down in one night…the Clown has become extremely dangerous."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker had to have a change of clothes after his previous shirt ended up splattered with blood. While he was buttoning his black shirt, he noticed Blip was eyeing him from behind the monitor of his laptop. When he was caught, Michael turned his attention back to the screen in front of him.

"Something is bothering you, isn't it?" Joker said as he tucked the dark shirt into his black pants.

"N-no…not at all." Blip responded nervously.

"Yes there is, you can't lie to me." The Jester started put a purple tie around his neck. "Was it the Leopards, the Green Lantern or the Boy Scout…?"

"It's n-nothing."

Joker slammed both hands angrily on the desk beside Blip. The Hacker jumped and cowered behind this laptop. "Look, I know I'm not feeling well, but don't tell me you didn't want to give that bitch a lesson or two in respect. Ohhh, and she will respect me when she sees how easily I took down her pet thug and his friends tonight. I don't doubt she would've tried to have Mountain Man kill me if I hadn't taken care of him. And I have heard you mutter more than once that you wanted to shoot them yourself. The Buns of Steel and his pet Greenie…I confess. I did those for instant gratification." Joker smiled wide as he said that last sentence.

"I'm j-just concerned of what C-Charley is gonna do when she f-finds out you massacred her team and Jake above all, for God's sake. I thought we s-should have stuck together. Now we not only have to worry about the B-Bat and the League, but also an angry, murderous bitch."

"You're such a melodramatic fool..." Joker said as he started to button his green vest. "Massacred…as if I just killed innocent people or something. I just showed my prowess as a leader. I have crushed the Alliance, Blip, just like the Emperor in that stupid movie you like. Any chance of my adorable Princess Leia using her pet wookie and her imperial guard to best me out is gone. Nothing personal, just business. You should thank me for doing that. If she would have iced me guess who was going to be next one in her list…?"

"Sh-she's not gonna like it…"

"She's not gonna find out…at least not yet, and definitely not from me." Joker fixed the cuffs of his shirt. "I CAN'T JUST STAND IT WHEN PEOPLE WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME, INSULT ME TO MY FACE, AND STILL THINK THEY CAN UNDERMINE MY AUTHORITY! AND I CAN'T STAND A WOMAN WHO IGNORES MY APPROACHES TOO! HOW DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES A MAN FEEL?! IGNORED? REJECTED! I CAN'T STAND CHARLEY AND HER QUEEN SHEBA COMPLEX!!" Michael just stared at the Clown Prince. "WHAT?!"

"Nothing…r-really. We need to be careful. The p-police have to be near." Blip made a pause to swallow. "…and I've never s-seen you this angry."

Michael quickly buried his head in his monitor screen. Joker looked at him as he took his dark gray jacket from the chair it was resting on and stared at it pensively. His eyes glistened under the light from the lamp on Blip's desk. The Jester held tightly to the garment that he stretched between his clenched fists.

"You're right. Look at me, Blip. Losing control over anger. I've never been this angry before, and it hurts to be this angry. I've even forgotten when was the last time that something made me laugh though mauling that Green lantern was a lot of fun…like killing Robins. What've I done to myself? Look, I'm wearing a gray suit….a dark gray suit. Dark like my mood, dark like my soul. And the things I have done… I can't help feeling remorse for things I know I've enjoyed doing. I used to like murder. I used to laugh at chaos. Not feel like this. It makes me suffer. Why can't I stop suffering?"

"Maybe it will be a g-good idea to get out of the city for a while…maybe out of the c-country. That way you can take some t-time off and relax."

"Time off? This is not something that a time out in a corner will fix, Blip. I need to die. Leave this carcass empty for Joker to take over and make me forget what I have been through, what I have done. I want to be insane once more. Go to that happy place of mine where life was just an adventure, a show, a joke where I delivered the deadly punch line. I just want to hear a good joke and laugh again…and for a long time. I want the ghosts to stop chasing me everywhere I go. I hear them, I see them, all the time. Blip…I can't handle this anymore. I'm losing control…"

Michael cocked his head gently. He had never heard the Boss speak like this. He was really upset, and depressed. For the first time, Joker was not this iconic, powerful, chaotic force that took everything in front of him and twisted it to conform to his abnormal sense of humor. This man was twisting inside, under his own sorrow, howling in pain as his mind danced on the verge of sanity. He was showing a side of himself he didn't want to look at; a side of his own psyche that even scared the Clown who had terrorized an entire city. That was not easy to understand because Joker had never known fear…until today. Fear of who he had become and what he was capable of doing. He couldn't handle the reality of his own existence. Michael tried to say something comforting, but how do you comfort someone in such much pain?

Joker ripped the jacket in his hands. His smile was an evil grin that looked more like a mocking statement to everything that was good. "I'm falling into a dark abyss, Blip, but I will not fall alone. I will take this city with me and give them a free tour of the darkest reaches of my soul. Only then…they can understand how it feels to be me…to feel this pain. And at the end, I will dance the final waltz with the reason of my pain. His death will be the Clown's rebirth and after that, nothing will ever make sense. I will be the Lord of Chaos once. I will be the crazy murdering Clown they want me to be…and I think I need to wear something a little more…colorful."


	42. Understandings

_**Author's note:** Hello friends. I've returned with another chapter of this complicated story. Hope you will like it since it was done with lots of love, so please let me know what you think. Thanks a million to my readers for their trust, and the fans that had let their opinion in writing. And remember ya'll, I love hearing from the fans, so speak up! (smiles)...now, to the chapter ._

_Disclaimer 1: Batman and related characters are owned by DC_

_Disclaimer 2: Some scenes will include MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS...reader's discretion is adviced_

_THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL BETA...KICHI. _

**Chapter 42: Understanding**

Bruce took a bite out of the ham and cheese sandwich, as he studied the information on the screen of the Bat-computer. He had forgotten how good it felt to eat. God, if he could only remember the last time he had a chance to sit down and enjoy some homemade food during this investigation without the stress of the patrol. Or the hunt for the dangerous criminals of the city. The jaw muscles were still a little bit sore from the Clown Prince's electrifying attack, but the Detective could feel the strength slowly returning to him with the nourishment. That was all he needed; some rest before he restarted his hunt for the elusive Jester.

Dick was beside him enjoying a glass of orange juice with his sandwich. He was working at a computer station nearby, looking at old news papers and police reports.

"What are we searching for again?" Nightwing asked, taking a large bite of his sandwich.

"I need to know what other properties Doyle or Bianco might have left behind that the police didn't know about. Joker might be using them as a hideout, or a storage space."

"Why do you think Joker would have taken some of those particular properties for himself?"

"You heard him talk in the warehouse about how he thinks Doyle might have sent me to kill his wife to force him to do his bidding. I believe he might have worked for him for some time and that is a strong lead."

"But Joker was delirious...he could have made that up out of the blue just to confuse us."

"No...not this time. I think he meant what he said. I think that Joker had dealings with Doyle before he became the murderous clown and he might have inherited some of the properties when the Boss died."

"I don't know about that. This is all so...strange. Joker...a gangster?"

"We don't know much of Joker before he took his acid bath so it's a possibility. I have found some interesting data from the old police reports. Listen to this. When they were doing the investigation to bring down Boss Doyle, there was mention of a gun-for-hire that was working for him. He was intimidating anybody who challenged Doyle's underground supremacy. The reports are from dubious sources and were never taken seriously. But they say that though this hit man was very quiet, he would do anything to get the job done- no matter how gruesome. And he never killed the same way twice. People tried to stay away from him, because they considered him too unstable and violent. He went through several nicknames, but most of the underworld seemed to have known him as Crazy Jack. Sounds familiar?"

"And you think _Crazy Jack_ was Joker. Did they ever arrest this Jack character? It will be good to have a pair of fingerprints, a police picture..."

"No history of any arrest, and no picture in the police records. Very wise to stay away from the spotlight, with a reputation like that."

"Unlike Joker, who wants to be the center of attention all the time? Bruce, how could someone so notorious as Crazy Jack, stay out of the spotlight for so long. It's just not possible that there is not even a picture with Jack's face. He has to be a myth."

"I don't think so. More than one source spoke of Crazy Jack as if he were a real person." Batman said as he continued to read the reports.

"I read the report on Doyle too, and he made quite a reputation on lies. I don't know about this Jack, and even now, he avoided the spotlight. Joker can't stay out of the spotlight. He has to be the center of attention."

"Until now. Noticed how he has kept a low profile all these months? That is not his usual behavior."

"People don't change that much, Bruce. He's going to be the center of attention if those missiles are launched."

"Joker's behavior changes every few years. He started as a psychopathic killer, with little humor. Then changed to the crazy Clown with the deadly pranks, and lately has reverted to his homicidal nature. Even his psychiatrists say he doesn't have a real personality, that he has the need to reinvent himself constantly, day by day, minute by minute. He needs to be original, different."

"And you think that he reinvented himself as Jack? Excuse me Bruce, but all this psychobabble doesn't make much sense to me."

"No, Jack is a real person, Joker's core if you will. He built the Clown on top of a psyche that was already damaged. Harley said that the man Joker was before his acid bath was very angry and unstable. He hated everything around him, including his own life. This man could just have committed psychological suicide and created a new version of himself to take his place so he could deal with the world around him. Jack got to a point where he just couldn't do it."

"Psychological suicide...is that even a scientific term?" Dick said, eyeing Bruce suspiciously.

"I can't find any other way of explaining it. It's like someone with multiple personality disorder. They create these personas, with totally different traits, to deal with different things. Only this time, Joker is the only other persona in Jack's psyche, and he has total control- because without it, Jack can't live in the normal world."

Dick scratched his head and sighed. "And what happened to Crazy Jack?"

Batman remained silent as he kept reading the report. "He disappeared from the scene when Doyle went to prison for killing his girlfriend, and that crime was very unusual in itself. His girlfriend was wearing a man's trench coat. A purple trench coat, gloves, and a hat- thought to belong to one of his henchmen. And Doyle always stated that she was never a target. They suspected Doyle tried to kill someone else and got his girlfriend instead. Someone who wore purple ..."

"Whoever took over Doyle's business would have had Crazy Jack killed, or if he was a generous man, offered him a place in the new organizational order- which I find unlikely. When dealing with gangs, you take someone else's turf you better take out the competition before the competition gets you out of the picture."

"That is true, unless he was the one who took over the organization. Doyle was succeeded by a shady underground figure called Mr. J."

"Oh no...don't tell me you think Joker was leader of the underworld too?"

Batman shrugged. "I don't know if he is the same person, but it's a possibility, though he only seemed to have controlled the underworld for a few months before he finally disappeared for good."

"Was he killed?"

"Nobody knows, though that is what the police thought at the time." Bruce sat back in his chair and looked at the cave roof. "Then approximately ten months later, the Red Hood tries to rob Monarch Card Company and accidentally falls in a vat of acid, transforming himself to the Joker. I didn't know his name then, but if it was Jack, this could mean that there is a small possibility he and Crazy Jack were the same person."

"I don't know. Bruce this is starting to have the feel of a bad gangster movie. Joker, boss of the underworld. Doesn't add up if you ask me. Does it really make much sense to you?"

"It's one of many possibilities, but really, when has anything about Joker ever made sense?

"Becoming the main boss of the underworld... Could be, but you know how difficult it is going to be to pin that one on Joker after all these years? And that might not be Joker after all. All we really know is that Joker was the Red Hood. Why worry if he was Crazy Jack, Mr. J. or anybody else for that matter?"

"Because that is the man he thinks he is now. Joker is now having a personality disorder in which the man he was before he became the Clown is in conflict with his other self. And if we can understand who he was we might be able to overwhelm Jack. I don't want Joker to be charged with any new crimes; and we know we can deal with Joker. The dangerous and unpredictable personality in this mix is Jack, and I hardly know him. I can only defeat him if I know who Jack is, and what his weaknesses are."

Alfred appeared from the service entrance to the cave carrying a tray with freshly brewed tea along with cups and saucers. He walked up the staircase to the main computer level and set the tray on a portable table beside the main console. The Butler diligently picked up the empty sandwich tray.

"Thanks Alfred," Nightwing said picking one of the cups and pouring some tea. "You make the best tea.""Thank you, Master Dick," Alfred said approaching Bruce by the console. "Sorry to interrupt your investigation, sir, but have you heard anything from Green Lantern or Mr. Kent?"

"I spoke with Diana and she says that John is still unconscious, but stable. He suffered quite a beating from Joker that left him with a few broken bones and a severe concussion. She also said that they were able to remove the two Kryptonite bullets from Clark, but they have left him very weak for the moment. Probably a remnant from the radiation or microscopic shards left behind, they don't know, but they were concerned about blood poisoning from the Kryptonite which is extremely dangerous."

"I still don't know how Superman could be injured by bullets. Isn't he, like, bulletproof?" Nightwing asked.

"Except for Kryptonite, and these bullets were capped with the green form of the crystal. The mineral renders him weak, and can penetrate his skin to some extent. The danger is that the mineral, once in the body, can cross into the bloodstream and kill a Kryptonian. Joker knew what he was doing..."

"Easy to guess who supplied the bullets to the Clown...the only man in this country known to have mined Kryptonite in large amounts..."

"...Lex Luthor." Alfred finished the sentence.

"Though there is no solid proof, I have to agree with you. My main concern is that Luthor has never used Kryptonite-tipped bullets before, either because these are new weapons, or he wasn't sure of the effects on the Kryptonian physiology. Joker might have provided the field data Luthor needed to confirm that this is a viable weapon against Superman. That is going to cause a problem later on..."

"One more thing Superman needs to worry about when he confronts Mr. Luthor." Alfred said with some concern. "This could become his worst nightmare...a human weapon that could actually kill him?"

"And what other weapons has Joker gotten his hands on?" Nightwing commented. "He took John down like it was nothing to him. How do you get a Green Lantern like John down with so much ease?"

"I don't know. But it would be safe to assume that Joker, knowing the League was helping in the investigation, made it his job to find a way to defeat the most threatening members of the team. Joker has good connections. Like Luthor, he was a member of the Injustice League, and that organization has housed the most dangerous enemies of the League for years. The Injustice League has amassed a large arsenal against us over time. I'm sure someone with the right amount of money will be able to buy that arsenal."

"But he didn't kill you or Master Dick..." Alfred said. "Even when he had you with him in the warehouse, he didn't kill you. He missed the greatest chance to get rid of you. Isn't that odd?"

"I am the center of his hatred, Alfred. He's probably preparing something special for me. Just have to be ready. I will do my best not to fall into his trap."

"I wonder if they were able to find Joker's trailer. He couldn't get that far with the entire police department so close on his trail..."Nightwing said.

"He had close to half an hour, maybe more due to the closure of the Gotham Bridge. That was plenty of time to get away before I got there. I think he might have found another place to hide the trailer in the meantime and that's why they have not found him. That is why I need to see what other properties he might have inherited from Doyle."

"Well, like the warehouse at the Docks, there were quite a lot of other buildings that belonged to Bianco and Doyle at some time- especially where the trailer was housed. Half of the buildings on the docks had belonged to Doyle alone. Beside that...I don't see any other important piece of information. I still have to look at the rest of the city, Doyle owned some buildings there that he use as brothels, and others as legal business to launder his profit from drug dealing."

"But the Clown seems to be making some serious mistakes...He killed his associates, the Leopards." Alfred said.

"Maybe it wasn't a mistake and he did it to gain control of them. I always thought Jake was the Grand Leopard. He just never admitted to it." Nightwing said.

"Maybe,but he killed ten other Leopards and tried to kill two more people on the same night. This behavior is more of someone on a spree. I agree with Alfred, maybe Jack is starting to lose control..." The communicator in the computer console beeped, and the ID confirmed it was coming from Lieutenant Bullock. "Batman here..."

"I know it's early, Batman, but we are in the Joker's underground hideout and I think there's something that you need to see here."

"I'm on my way..." Batman terminated the transmission and went down the stairs to the unit storing his armored suit. He opened the door to the unit and retrieved the cowl and cape and started to suit up. "You will be following me on your bike?"

"I would prefer to stay and rest some more if you don't mind?"

"You OK?" Batman asked as he stopped putting his uniform on to look at Nightwing on the upper level. There was genuine concern in his eyes.

"I'm just a little dizzy and my leg still bothers me, that's all. I will continue the search on the computer and join you later when I feel better."

"It's alright, you were quite beat up in the warehouse. I'll keep you informed of the investigation."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Blip was working with the laptop and sipping on his soda when he noticed the Jester walk beside him carrying a few of his smiling gas bombs in his hand and a bottle of household cleaner. He sat in front of the hacker, pushing the computer towards Blip in an effort to make some space on the small table. Joker put the round bombs on his lap and emptied some of the cleaner in a used ashtray filled with ash and cigarette butts. Blip tried to offer to clean the ashtray he had been using when he got slapped in the hand.

"I need the ash,thank you very much." Joker responded as he pulled one of the bombs and set it in front of him and instilled a few drops from Blip's soda into the ashtray. The murky solution fizzled. He removed a small cap from the top of the sphere and took the straw . After shaking the straw to remove the excess liquid he put it on the ashtray and mixed the contents that quickly changed from a murky grayish mixture to a red bubbly solution. He covered the top of the straw with a white finger and moved the straw over to the top of the bomb, and after letting the contents of the straw drip into the small opening the Clown Prince closed the cap and shook the bomb violently. Blip pushed back in fear. He knew that the chemical was unstable if shaken and that thing could go off anytime...

Joker smiled at the hacker's frightful face and showed off the face of his bomb that was an exact replica of his face, but rounded to fit the sphere's shape. Through what would be the Jester's smile on the bomb, there was a bubbly green liquid showing through.

"That green enough for you?" Joker said giggling. Blip couldn't hold a subtle smile. "Just don't shake it like that again or you gonna laugh yourself to death." The intercom in the trailer beeped. The Jester rolled his eyes angrily as he answered. "Yes,Lou?"

"I've heard on the police radio that they have closed all the roads outside the city and they are doing searches of all trucks coming in or out of the city. What you want us to do?"

"Well, well...my original plan is not gonna work if we can't get out of the city and we really need to leave before the great moment, don't we...?"

"They know about the truck. It's going to be a matter of time before they find us..."

"I agree. Then what we need to do is mingle the best way we can...?"

"But the truck..." Blip protested.

"Boss...?" Lou called over the intercom.

"SHUT UP YOU ALL...I'M THINKING...!" Joker yelled furiously as he pushed himself back against the chair. He started to drum his fingers on the table. "What day is it?"

"The twenty-third...why?" Blip responded.

"Two days till Christmas...good. Did you make your list to Santa?" Blip stared strangely to the Clown Prince who sported a large smile. "I know I did. I asked for lots of chaos and mayhem for this city, and in the middle of the last minute shopping spree we can cause some good old fashioned chaos in a crowded place...and chaos,is my business" Joker turned to face the intercom. "Lou, are we still on the interstate?"

"Yes..."

"Have you passed the Gaylor exit?" Joker purred through a wide smile. Michael eyed the Clown Prince suspiciously. This Joker was different again. He was planning something radical that he was going to enjoy in his own very particular way. This was the old Clown Prince of Crime he was used to seeing...

"Two exits ahead..."

"Then let's do some shopping. Head towards that big new mall they have in Gaylor Avenue. Blip get me the schematics of the city underground in this area. I think we're close to the War Dog's hideout where I sent Charley."

"Boss...sorry," Lou said through the intercom. "You said, shopping?"

"Yes, I did Lou. Now be a sweetie and just drive to the mall, OK...?" Joker grunted and looked at Blip with sad eyes at the same time he made the letter L in his forehead with his right thumb and index finger. "Please remind me to kill Lou before New Year's...he's starting to get on my nerves."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was about eleven when Batman arrived at the corner of Aparo and Robinson. It was way past the rush hour, but there were still a lot of cars and motorcycles stuck in heavy traffic as the police was doing their best deviating vehicles from this much transited road. The Detective got off the road to a side alley nearby and after parking the Batmobile, he stepped out to find a pair of men dressed in dark suits, sunglasses, and earpieces.

"You can't park here. This is a restricted area." The man on the blue suit said. "You'll have to leave."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah...you're the other freak..." The man interjected. Batman didn't like to be called a freak, much less '...the other freak'. He kept advancing towards the two men. "You'll still have to go."

"I was called by Lieutenant Bullock to join the investigation, so if you please let me through, gentlemen ..."

"I don't care if you are the Pope. This is a restricted area. Only people with clearance above five are allowed through. If you have a problem with that...bring it to the Department of Inland Security. Now, SCRAM!"

Batman knew he had Matthew Hampton to thank for the warm welcoming committee. The detective frowned. He didn't like to be told what to do in HIS city. "I'm not saying this again...let me through."

The government officers grabbed the Detective's armored suit in an effort to stop his advance. Batman kicked the officer on his right who stumbled back against a wall. He biffed the other officer in the abdomen and then threw a good left-hand uppercut knocking the man to his knees. He grabbed the man by his pants and hurled the officer out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. The other officer drew a gun when a black metal batarang embeded in his hand making it bleed profusely. The officer howled in pain as the gun fell from his hand from the sudden pain. In a moment the alley was filled with police and government officials, pulling automatics and calling for reinforcements on their receivers. Batman hated the odds, but if he had to fight his way through all of them he would. From the multitude of officers in the alley, he recognized Bullock's voice.

"Hold on, hold on...he's with me," said the large officer, pushing himself through the multitude of law enforcers. "Everybody back off..."

"Just in time, Lieutenant." Batman stated.

"Yeah...and you could have been a little more subtle..."

"These men didn't want to listen." Batman responded signaling towards the two injured officials. "And I said please once..."

"Maybe they're hard of hearing. We have a few of those lately, especially from Inland security. Come" Bullock said clearing the way for him and Batman. "The orders have just changed. The Batman is now part of the investigationnothing happened here...go on with your work."

Both Bullock and Batman walked along the sidewalk and under the yellow tape towards the end of the blocked off street. There was a large amount of officers placed around the manhole in Aparo. Another group of officers were dispatched around the manhole on Robinson. From the group of officers, Batman noticed Sanders advancing towards him.

"They told me what you did, and you are either too brave or too crazy, Batman. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"Your men should have been informed of my arrival..." Batman responded angrily.

Sander's massaged his black moustache. "Yeah...right. There is still some miscommunication between CIA and Inland Security, but the President had a chat with Hampton and I think he sees things from a different perspective now. Communication will improve, I promise. In the meantime, I didn't tell your Lieutenant friend to invite you to just watch, follow me."

All three officers moved through the line of cops and stood by the manhole.

"These are the closest entrances to the Joker's hideout." Bullock said trying to keep up with the Detective. "It's a large one, probably four to five thousand square feet, equipped with the most sophisticated security and weapon systems we've seen. The Clown had quite the headquarters there." The Lieutenant motioned to the hole. "Watch your cape on the way down."

Sander's was the first one to go down the manhole's metal stairs. The Detective followed and then Bullock. Once Batman reached the bottom he felt a sudden shortness of breath. He concentrated hard and moved on, forcing large amounts of air in several times.

"You OK?" Sanders asked walking towards a large pair of metal doors that now sprung wide open. Inside was filled with forensics personnel, police officers and government officials.

"Just a little tired...it's been a long few days." Batman said entering the hideout. Bullock was not exaggerating. This place was huge. The large area he was walking through now, had a sofa, an armchair, a flat screen TV with a cable box, and a few smaller tables with chips and cans of soda scattered all over. Towards the back was a room with large tinted glass windows. One of the window panels was shattered and the pieces lay scattered on the floor. Another had a cracked window pane.

"You will be happy to know the President is willing to negotiate with this Joker, just to get us some more time, but don't expect the negotiations to last too long."

"I'm glad to hear that because time is what we need. Joker can't be far but it will require some effort to locate."As Batman entered the large room, he recognized the mahogany table with the carved Jester's heads on each side as he had seen in the Joker's video. It was a beautiful piece of furniture, probably bought with some talented artisan's blood. The thought of Joker killing after satisfying his hedonistic pleasures made Batman's stomach tighten. This must have been were that video was filmed. On top of the desk was a computer system, with a few flat screens and behind the computers a very familiar face.

"Hello, Batman." Lancaster waved from the computer station.

"You know each other?" Sanders inquired with curiosity.

"We met at the station. He's the best computer expert the Police Department has."

"I've heard. He also analyzed some video material sent by the Joker, and a computer virus, right?" Batman nodded. "He's aiding our specialists with the computers. Any luck with the hard drive, Mr. Lancaster?"

"None, but the virus they used in this computer is of the same kind they used on the data disk. I couldn't find a disk with a copy of the virus, so I would suspect that Blip must have activated the virus remotely, wiping the entire hard drive... There is nothing salvageable here untill I can read the fingerprints in the hard drive if there are any..."

"Very carefully orchestrated." Batman said. "Joker and his hacker have thought of everything this time."

"Indeed," continued Sanders. "We even found the government computer system was taken from Brigadier Ritz's home. The computer hard drive had been duplicated, which poses a risk to National Security if this madman can find use for the information in that system."

"What was in that computer?"

"Sensitive information about our defense system. Brigadier Ritz was a consultant for several Defense programs including project Star Wars. You know what that is, right?" Batman nodded and Sanders went on. "Well, Ritz was found burnt to a crisp in his house with what seemed a large smile on his face. His wife and little girl are still missing. It's easy to guess what happened to them,Joker probably negotiated the Brigadier's family for information only to kill them all. You can understand why the President is not too happy with the whole situation. He wants the Joker stopped and delivered to us."

"He's not going to be sent back to the Asylum?" Batman inquired suspiciously.

"Not this time, the Joker's luck has run out." Jeremiah said with a smirk.

"The Joker is mentally ill..."

"Sure...and the few thousand that are going to die in the next few days are just a figment of his imagination. Or maybe he didn't kill those thousand people your report says he didno. The Insanity plea is not going to work this time." The Detective just stared at the CIA officer. "Come on Mr. Batman, don't tell me you aren't happy we are going to get the Clown out of your city...?

"He needs treatment..." Batman said, unsure why he was defending the murderer. He would have given anything to permanently dispose of the lunatic. But now more than ever, he understood how sick the Joker really was. He didn't need any more pain...he needed therapy.

"We will provide any treatment he needs..." Sanders said ominously. Batman quickly understood the hidden message in the statement. The government didn't care for the Joker's mental health, they were just removing a very serious threat to the country. And they usually removed their threats permanently, without much publicity. If the Jester didn't get much psychiatric help before, therapy was going to be nonexistent now. Either the government was not going to provide it at all, or Joker was going to be too dead to need any. This was not good news for the Clown Prince.

"You said you needed my help..."

"Yes, as the Joker expert in this city I need you to give me some information. Our reports said that the Clown was a mentally ill psychopath who usually worked alone and was highly unstable. The man we're facing must be working with a hacker and a large organization that is backing him up, and I think that his behavior is far from being unstable. In the Mayor's office, you said he had regained his sanitymind illuminating us? You obviously know something we don't."

"I told you already, Joker claims to have recovered his sanity. But that is a matter of point of view. What is sane for the Joker most of the time is not sane to anyone else..."

"The type of mental disease described for your Clown is defined as very complex, and probably irreversible. Violence, schizophrenia, hallucinations, delirium, OCD and histrionics. How could he regain his sanity?"

"That would be a question to pose to the Joker. He is the one who claims to be sane."

"So sane that he is threatening us with World War three...?"

"Joker is going for the number of victims. I don't think he is able to see the repercussions of his actions in the long run. He's just trying to solve his problem immediately. It's hard to understand, but he is trying to make himself laugh."

"At the expense of human lives?"

"If you read his file carefully, Mr. Sanders, he has always done that. Murder makes him happy, but this time i's not that easy, because Joker is extremely depressed and angry. One or two murders have not made him laugh, so he's going for the triple digits."

"Do you know why? "

"No, I don't have an answer for that, though I would guess that becoming sane has brought him a large burden. Remorse, pain, and even disappointment. When the Joker is able to shake off his depression, he will not need to kill anymore. But unfortunately, by that time, the death toll would be too high." Batman looked Sanders intensely. "I'm not Joker's psychiatrist so why are you asking me this?

"They told me you were a Joker expert and we need to stop the Clown somehow. Maybe if we appeal to his anger. Making him angry enough where he will start making mistakes. That will bring him forward, no?"

"No." Batman said emphatically. "You don't want to make the Joker more angry;he's already killed a lot of people in that mood."

"Well, my orders are clear. Bring the Joker down fast and hard with the least amount of casualties possible. And we will...I'm not going to let this become another 911..."

"You said you needed me, Sanders. I hope it was for more than just a psychoanalysis of the Joker?"

"Yes, that is true. Follow me..." Responded Sander's leading the Detective out of the office and arriving at a door in back of the hideout. The door was protected by two government officials in dark suits, and it led downstairs. How many levels did this place have? Batman wondered as he followed Sanders past the guards and into this sub-level. At the bottom of the stairs, more officials stood silently.

At the end of the room, two men sat in chairs with their hands shackled behind their backs, surrounded by even more government officials. Of the two men, the larger one, who was about two hundred and fifty pounds, looked terrorized to see the Batman in the basement with him. The other, unknown to the Detective except that he wore the now recognizable black leather with yellow and black spotted print collar typical of the Leopard Gang. The Dark Knight recognized the large man, and even remembered a name...Elliott Cassidy. He had intermittently worked with the Clown over the last few months before his last arrest. Obviously this man didn't learn the lesson since the last time.

"We arrested these two trying to get out of this place the other night." Sanders' went on. "I'm sure they know more, but they don't want to talk to us. At the station they also told me you have a way with people...a very particular way. Maybe you can make them talk to you; I don't know."

Batman looked strangely at the CIA official, then back at Elliott who had started to sweat. Sanders motioned to the officers in the basement. Was that a smile in Sander's face? "Well, I think we are going to leave you guys alone now." The Captain said leaving behind his officers. Soon in the basement there were only Batman and the two thugs left.

"How're you doing, Elliott?"Batman said walking slowly towards the large thug. The man tried to press himself harder against the chair as he tried to back away from the Detective. "Anything you want to tell me about your boss?"


	43. Shopping Spree

**Author's Note:** _Hello everyone, another chapter for your enjoyment. I apologize for the slow posting of the chapters but been too busy at work, and had to relegate the chapters for a little while. But now we are back in track and I would like to thank you all for your wonderful support. This story would not exist if it wasnt for you guys. Please feel free to drop me a note with your ideas, your impressions and your critiques. No flames please because they dont help us become better writers. With no more delays here it is._

_DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and related characters are owned by DC COMICS_

_DISCLAIMER 2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS._

_SPECIAL THANKS: To that wonderful beta without whom I would be lost...KICHI. Thanks girl!_

**Chapter 43: Shopping Spree**

Blip sat silently at the tiny desk. For the last few hours he had worked hard moving assets from different bank accounts in order to save the Joker's investments while doing his best to not raise suspicions with his transactions. Half of his tries to move money had failed…and he had lost four large bank accounts and close to three million dollars… Luckily for him, most of the remaining assets had been safely transferred and were now protected in brand new and unrelated accounts. It had been a hard blow, but with the right investments…Joker would recover all his loses within the next year if the economy permitted it and Blip knew a few good places to put that money to work. Still, Joker was not going to be happy when he found out about the final toll of the whole affair.

Michael lifted his head to look at the Jester sitting in front of him. The Clown Prince had stopped fixing all the gas bombs, and had proceeded to clean his .38 which he had polished to a beautiful silver shine. He was now sulkily replacing bullets in the clip of his gun. The Jester was distracted by his task, biting his tongue as he pushed each bullet in place. He had not stopped frowning. This Joker was not happy. How could Blip tell the Boss about his losses when he is in a mood like this? Maybe he should wait until later…when they were away from the cops. Then the intercom in the back beeped…

"Sir…" Lou's voice was hoarse, but very submissive. "We have a patrol car behind us…" The last statement was full of dread.

"Does it have the lights on?" Joker asked unconcerned by the remark as he inserted the clip on his gun.

"Not yet, but…WAIT! They just turned them on…." Lou's voice now denoted terror.

"Only one patrol car?" The Jester asked matter-of-factly as he pulled on the barrel of his gun to set the first bullet in place.

"So far as I can see…you want me to stop?"  
"You stop and I will use your head for target practice, Lou…." The Joker said as he put his gun back in the holster inside his jacket and rose from the chair. He walked to the front of the trailer and pulled a large black box with Russian writing on top. He let the box fall on the floor and kicked it towards Blip. He went back, opened a smaller black box, and pulled a small rocket, then walked back over to the box on the floor. "How far from the mall, Lou…?"

"Twelve…sixteen minutes at the most. Traffic is slow. Damn, the patrol car is flashing their bright lights at me…they are asking me to stop. This is not good, Boss..."

"I'm about to take care of your problem…just keep driving to the mall as fast as you can, and don't stop…" The Joker said kneeling on the floor and opening the box. A small booklet was carefully placed over a portable rocket launcher. "Blip, you read Russian?"

The hacker shook his head. Joker smiled and tossed the instructions behind him.

"Me neither." The Jester said giggling. "And the truth is…who cares? Let's have some fun with this. It can't be that complicated. Open the back door." Michael just sat there, looking at the Jester load the small missile into the launcher. "What are you waiting for…NOW!!"

Blip nervously jumped off his chair and headed towards the back of the long trailer. Joker followed close carrying the loaded launcher with him. Michael attached a small rope to the cross bar on the door and secured it on the floor of the truck on the same side. That would be enough to allow for a rapid closure. Removing the lock, the door sprang open as far as the rope allowed. Joker knelt, aimed the launcher at the patrol car and opened fire.

The police vehicle did not have a chance to react as it was hit and immediately burst in flames. The car quickly drifted to the left, crossed the median, and invaded the incoming traffic lanes. The patrol car was quickly hit by a white van and both vehicles exploded in a cloud of black smoke. The sound of crunching metal grew louder, accompanied by the screeching tires, and the smell of burnt rubber as more vehicles could not avoid the pile-up. Other vehicles caught fire, and there was a large explosion in the middle of the road. Whatever exploded…must have been huge.

"Oooh look….like dominoes…." Joker said, bursting into laughter. "And who said pigs don't fly…I think those two just flew straight to heaven… Divine bacon." The Jester laughed out of control as he helped Blip close the back door of the trailer. Michael let himself fall hard on the floor of the trailer and started to hyperventilate. He was on the verge of a panic attack. "Isn't this fun…Blip?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman held the Leopard gang member by his leather jacket and pressed him against the wall. The man, obviously not older than twenty-five stared at the gigantic man-bat with eyes that were about to bulge out of their sockets.

"Elliott here didn't want to be too cooperative, Lee, but you know where your leader is, don't you?

"Sh-she's wit' the Clown, man." Lee sputtered nervously looking at Elliot on the other chair, his nose still bleeding from being broken against the wall. He swallowed hard. "I don't know nothing else…I swear."

She…the Grand Leopard was a woman? That put a new twist in the investigation, but he had a hunch that the lady he had encountered before at Wayne Tech, was just more than one of the girls of the team. She had been hand in hand with the Jester, and the Clown kept calling her Princess. "Are you sure that is the only thing you know…? You heard what the Clown did you your friend Jake, no? The same will happen to you if you keep protecting the madman…shot close-range in the head. You want to end the same way?"

"I swear man, that's all. Just don't kill me, Ok… I told ya all I know…"

The door to the basement opened and Bullock showed his fat face through. "Batman…Joker's truck sighted on the interstate and heading towards Gaylord Avenue."

"You sure…?"

"The Clown caused a serious accident trying to shake the patrol car that spotted him at the interstate…witnesses said he used a rocket or something against the patrol car…"

That sounded like something the Joker would do. Batman was even scared of asking the death toll from the accident. Knowing this Joker…it was guaranteed to be high. The Detective lowered Lee and pushed him hard against the chair and joined the Lieutenant at the door. Two men dressed in black suits met them as they left.

"Those two down there are useless." He told the government officials motioning to the shackled prisoners. "Tell Sanders he can do whatever he wants with them, they really don't know anything."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman boarded his vehicle still securely parked in the alley. Joker was finally cornered, with the police closing in on him and his trailer right now. But why on Gaylord Avenue…why was Joker turning in that precise area and getting onto a secondary road, when staying on the interstate or any other primary road would have made it easier to maneuver the large trailer? What was in there that Joker could use to escape? He opened a channel to the cave.

"Dick…I need to know if there is any property on Gaylord Avenue that belonged to Doyle or Bianco." There was no answer. "Dick?"

Nobody answered. Batman opened a channel to the mansion.

"Alfred…Dick… Please respond…" Batman pleaded. He didn't like the silence in the waves.

"Mother Goose here, sir…" The Butler finally answered.

"You had me scared for a moment…where is Dick?"

"Master Dick is indisposed. He said he didn't feel too well after lunch and has been very sick to the stomach since you left. I think his nausea has gotten worse in last half hour."

"Take care of Dick, he needs you there for him and take him to the hospital if you see fit. In the meantime, I'll follow a lead. Joker's trailer has been spotted east on Gaylord Avenue."

"That's in the commercial district. Nothing there but store units and the mall, sir."

"I know. I was hoping that Doyle had any properties in the area that Joker might be using for hiding…But I will contact you later with the progress in the chase. Let me know if Dick's condition worsens."

"Yes sir…" Alfred answered dropping the call. Batman was concerned about Dick's deteriorating condition, but the most important thing was stopping the Joker. The Detective turned on the police band.

_"…the suspect's trailer has entered the mall parking lot…all units gather to intercept…air patrol, can you see the trailer…?"_

Joker's trailer was in the Gaylord mall parking lot? But why? The Jester was asking to be arrested if he stayed in that parking lot. It was an enclosed area, and with the right police support, there was no way out. The police finally had the Joker cornered- or maybe not? Then it hit him like a nightmare…the mall was full of people doing the last minute shopping for the holidays. It was a Saturday and a few thousand souls might be inside the mall right now. Innocent people oblivious that there was a monster lurking outside, thirsty for chaos and death. Joker had selected his target carefully. With that much people, the Jester could try something desperate, and the death toll would be incalculable. This Clown was on this murder spree for the sheer numbers.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Blip was transferring the last gigabytes of information to his flash disk when Joker tossed a bulletproof vest over to him. Michael looked at that vest and then to the Jester who was unloading some guns from a nearby box. He was carrying a small backpack where he had stored his toxin bombs. The Clown Prince pulled a few clips for his .38 and a UZI that he quickly stuffed in his backpack when he noticed the hacker's intense gaze on him.

"What?" Joker said with a smile "You are my Wizard of Oz…but I don't think you're bulletproof."

"When did it get this bad?"

"Hmm…it was after the second exploding patrol car. That one caught everybody's attention." Joker said grabbing two more UZIs that he strapped around his chest. "My bad…But the first one was so much fun…"

Michael started putting the vest on. "And we were supposed to avoid the cops…"

"And we are…we're just going to do it like in the movies…"Joker responded between giggles.

"We are going to get killed like in the movies…" Michael responded removing the flash drive from the computer and inserting a CD into the drive.

"No we are not, crybaby…just stay close to me and do as I say…"

The intercom beeped. "Boss…we are in the mall parking lot…and we have several patrol cars behind us…I also see some bright blue and red lights ahead and they set road barriers ahead…what you want me to do…?

"Do you see the mall's main entrance?"

"I'm passing the entrance as we speak, why?

"Turn now, go through the glass doors and park inside the mall."

"Wha--? Park where?"

Joker sighed. "Inside the mall, by the fountain…unless you want to ask the cops for a better place to park…? It's all part of the plan, Lou…trust me."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this…" Michael said closing the laptop and starting to put the bulletproof vest. "Well, this computer is toast and I'm ready to die now…"

"You are so funny, Blip…like a coronary. I swear." The Clown Prince glared angrily at the hacker. "Now brace yourself, this ride is gonna get bumpy." Joker said as he started to laugh crazily.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lou hesitated for a moment. His co-pilot gave him a look that spoke volumes. If they were going to stop now…the cops will be on them in just a few moments, and the Boss was of the idea that surrendering was for the weak. He had never surrender, so why should Lou? At least inside they will have a chance to survive, because Joker wouldn't ask for something so risky if he didn't have a plan…right?

The driver pushed the accelerator to the floor and tensed while holding to the steering wheel as if he was holding to dear life. The truck jumped onto the sidewalk and then crashed through the large glass walls at the entrance. Lou maneuvered the eighteen wheeler magnificently, avoiding main structural elements, but unfortunately was not as good when he had to avoid the terrified people that wasn't expecting the large trailer in the mall lobby. He could feel people falling underneath the wheels of the cab, and people screaming their lungs out as the trailer slid down the hall towards the fountain. He finally came to a stop by the food court.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker was finally able to get up. He had lost his balance when the trailer jumped the sidewalk and he ended up over the chair in a not-so-dignifying position. Blip had fallen to the floor but was able to quickly recover his footing once the trailer had stopped.

The Jester got off the chair, walked to the middle of the trailer and opened a secret hatch underneath the area rug. He motioned to Michael to leave through the hatch.

"Boss, what are you going to do...?" Blip answered kneeling beside the hatch.

Joker took an oversized handgun from behind him, aimed it at the back doors and fired a small metal grapple that hooked itself on the steel door. The tiny, spider-like grapple remained tethered to the gun by a thin cable. "I'm planning on a trip to Tahiti to learn to hula…maybe Madagascar to visit some lemurs I know, but before we can get in a plane, we have to get out of here. You go out and find those tunnels…I will leave a little surprise for the pigs. GO BLIP!!"

Michael slowly exited the trailer through the hatch, landing in the debris covered floor of the mall. There was some firing from the other side of the truck where Blip could see Lou and the other thug behind a table from the food court firing at upcoming security officers. People were hiding behind counters, raising their heads intermittently to see what was happening. Joker got out through the hatch and locked it back up as he crawled towards the hacker.

"Well…?" The Jester prompted.

Blip looked into his PDA. "There is an access tunnel not far from the elevator shaft. We can probably get there in two minutes."

"After you, my friend…or you are waiting to have your picture taken with Old St. Peter?" Joker retorted brusquely pulling the two UZIs hanging from his back. Blip started to walk away from the trailer when he saw a shot ricochet by his side.

"FREEZE!" A guard said from behind a column, and Blip thought it was the end of the road. A round metal ball with a Joker smiley face landed nearby the column and green smoke started to pour from the top of the ball. The officer behind the column started to laugh and slid down to the ground. The laughter quickly ended in dead silence.

"Nothing better than a good laugh before you die…" Joker said heading toward the elevators laughing loudly. "Let's go."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman arrived at the Gaylord Mall and saw the chaos already unraveling. The trailer had smashed into the mall through the main entrance and now only the back of the truck was visible through the large hole. The detective parked the Bat-mobile and stepped out running toward the building's gaping hole. The death toll started to escalate; he had to do everything he could to prevent it from getting any higher.

The Knight fired a grapple that hooked itself onto the still intact masonry structure of the entrance, and using his momentum he jumped to the top of the trailer and crawled into the mall.

Water was sprouting from the sprinklers on the ceiling making the trailer's roof very slippery. From his vantage point he could see two thugs exchanging fire with mall security. Security could take care of those, but where was the Clown Prince? Behind him he saw a man lying on the floor with a large fixed smile amidst a cloud of green smoke, and someone was laughing loudly past the smoke cloud.

Joker…

Batman jumped off the trailer onto to wet floor and started to run towards the source of the laughter. He covered his nose as he held his breath and slowed down when passing beside the smiling mall security guard to confirm the worst. The guard was dead. The Detective growled and resumed his chase. He finally found Joker and Blip by the elevator shaft. Grabbing a batarang from his utility belt he aimed at the unknowing duo and let go.

"OUCH! What the fuck?" Blip said dropping his PDA as the batarang cut deeply in his shoulder before embedding itself on the wall in front of him. Michael grabbed his arm in pain. Joker turned around and looked at the Knight with a large smile on his face. This was the encounter he was waiting for.

"Ready for a rematch so soon, Batsy?" Joker said firing one of the UZIs at the Caped crusader. Batman took cover behind a column. "Thought I would not be able to say goodbye one last time? I'm touched…really touched." The Jester burst into crazy laughter. "Touched in the head…get it?"

"There is nowhere to go Joker. The building is surrounded. Surrender." The Batman warned.

"I'm not going back to the Asylum until I'm done with my Christmas shopping. You're the last one on the list…" The Jester answered back, giggling childishly. He opened fire again. "Here, first gift of the season…have some lead confetti."

"It's the only place where they can help you, Jack. Don't you want the pain to stop?"

"Shut up! You know nothing of my pain…nobody does, nobody cares. I will make it stop...somehow." The Jester answered as he fired another round at the Detective. He grabbed another UZI. "Blip can you still take us out…?"

"I'm trying…I'm trying…" The hacker cried as he restarted his PDA. Drops of blood were dripping down the hacker's arm from the injured shoulder. Some blood had started to reach the PDA screen. "Damn…"

"Joker, please…it doesn't need to end this way. Besides our differences, I don't want to hurt you. You've been hurting for too long. Let me help you through the pain. You don't need to suffer anymore…it's time for some peace. Let me help you…"

"Yes…Rest in peace…"Joker roared back firing both UZIs in his hand. "…and if they find the little gift I left on the trailer….you're all going to rest in very tiny, pieces….itzy bitzy pieces. HAPPY KWANZA, BATBREATH! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAAA!"

A surprise…in the trailer…? What was the Joker talking about? The Knight realized immediately that the Joker must have rigged the trailer before escaping, and he could hear now the police giving orders to blast open the trailer… No…no more bloodshed. Batman opened a channel in his communicator, hoped he could reach Lieutenant Bullock in time…

"Merry Christmas, Bats…see you in hell…" Joker said as Batman ignored him to concentrate on reaching the police. The signal went through; he was on the police channel.

"Bullock…the trailer is rigged with explosives…don't open it. I repeat…don't open it."

Too late. The explosion felt like a loud rumble that shook the entire structure and a warm wave of hot air hit him on the face. Metallic debris started flying his way, some of it enveloped in flames. IT hit store displays, walls, and beams on the roof. They started to crack. Batman tried to get cover from the deadly debris, but that would mean facing the Joker again. He looked at the elevator shaft and saw the area was deserted. Where did Joker go?

The Detective heard a cracking noise above him…and noticed the roof coming apart. The building was coming down. He ran towards the elevator shaft and desperately searched for the exit that Blip and the Joker might have used. On the floor he noted a small hole, probably not larger than six squared feet that led to a bottom level. That was the exit Joker used but to where…another trap?

The rumble became louder and he realized he didn't have much time before the entire roof would come down on him. Batman slid through the hole and down through an inclined ramp. He was picking momentum fast. Behind him he heard a loud rumble…that must have been the roof. The small shaft he was sliding through quickly filled with smoke and dust.

His descent suddenly was interrupted by solid ground. He tried to reduce the shock of the fall, by rolling on the wet floor. When he finally came to a stop, he got to his feet and searched for cover by a wall and studied his surroundings. The tunnel was very dark and moist. There was some water on the floor and some more was leaking through the walls. From his utility belt he pulled a pair of night vision goggles and put them over his mask. The scene cleared up and deep inside the tunnel he could see a faint glare that flickered as it became dimmer. That light source was moving away from him…it had to be Joker.

He looked around for a moment, in search of an identifying marking on the walls. He needed to know if this was part of the sewers or the old tunnels. Joker had made a habit of using underground tunnels to get in and out of places. This was familiar territory for the Clown, but Batman needed some help to find his way around. He suddenly felt overwhelmed by nausea and dizziness. And as he tried to move forward in the tunnel he fell flatly on his face. What was wrong with him…? It must have been the fall…

Batman tried to get up when he noted drops of something thick on the floor. He turned on an LED mini light and took a closer look from under his night goggles…blood. Blip must still be bleeding. With renewed strength, he rose from the wet floor and started to rush down the tunnel.

"Oracle…can you hear me?"

"With some difficulty…where are you?" Barbara answered

"Underground tunnel, beneath the Gaylord Mall." Batman let out with some effort. He was still fighting the dizziness. "I think this is part of a larger array of tunnels that have been abandoned by the city. Joker has used them for years…but I need to know where I'm heading. Can you locate the tunnel I'm in…?"

"Let me see what I can do…"

"It should be in the public archives…I think under the old monorail system."

"I'm searching…"

"Barbara…how's Jim?"

"He's going to be OK, but he's going to need surgery for that knee." Batman noticed the changed of inflection in her voice. She had been through a lot with her father's kidnapping. "Here…I found it. I can get your exact location too. Where are you heading?"

The Detective looked at a band on his wrist. He tapped the band twice and a series of coordinates appeared. "Northeast."

"The only tunnel going in that direction should take you over to the residential area of Maitland Gables, and then it's going to branch several times. You have a visual on the Clown?"

"Not directly…I'm following a very faint light on the tunnel ahead of me and a trace of blood from Blip. I'm hoping it is indeed Joker and Garibaldi."

"I can't tell you where he's heading…"

"That's OK. Just need you to guide me…" Batman said arriving at the first fork in the tunnel. The light was very dim, there had to be another way of confirming which tunnel they took. The Detective turned on his LED flashlight and aimed at the floor. The answer glowed back at him. Small droplets of blood were visible in the tunnel at the right.

"First fork…'I'm taking the tunnel to the right." The Knight huffed

"That tunnel is steep, and you sound tired. Want me to call the police for reinforcements?"

"Not yet…need an exact location. I'm fine…and I'm not losing that Clown again by sending the police on a goose chase."

"Is Nightwing with you?"

"Dick is ill at the mansion…can't help us now. What's that…?" Batman answered when he heard a metallic noise from ahead. The noise came louder, a combination of metallic clinks and clanks that echoed along the hollow tunnel. The Detective stopped his advance and pushed himself against the wall. Then from the tunnel bend in front of him, two metal spheres came rolling down. He quickly recognized the Clown face on the surface of the spheres. As they entered his tunnel both spheres opened to release a green smoke that quickly filled the area. Batman held his breath, shoved a hand into his utility belt, and pulled out his oxygen mask.

"What?" Barbara asked with a worried tone.

"Joker venom (Bzzt!)…"Batman said through the distorting microphone of the mask. The two spheres continued down the tunnel releasing their deadly smoke. "This Clown… (Bzzt!)…playing for keeps."

"Joker wants you dead, and this is getting out of hand. You will need reinforcements…I'll call the police."

"Just hold on for a little longer. Need to know where the police can intercept them first." Batman said as he arrived at another fork in the tunnel. He looked and saw the light getting slightly brighter. Joker had to stop often, probably because of Michael, and that had slowed him down. But why still keep Blip…? It will be better to just kill the hacker and continue on his own. Why was Michael so important for Joker to drag the hacker along like this? Could this be one of those things he didn't know about his enemy? "(Bzzt!) Another fork, Oracle, and I'm still taking the one to the right. They're closer."

"That one is a dead end."

"You sure? I find it hard to believe… (Bzzt!) Joker is not going to corner himself so easily…" Batman responded as he continued advancing through the tunnel. He could see the light in front of him, and it was getting higher from the ground. The tunnel must go up.

"Let me check…"

Ahead of him, Batman saw something glinting on the faint lighting of the tunnel. It was something small…and was glowing from the floor. Batman took a few cautious paces towards the glow when finally he noticed it was a CD, stuck on the floor on its edge. What was the meaning of this…? Why would Joker…no, it couldn't be Joker, it had to be Blip. Blip is the one that used data systems. But why did Blip leave the CD behind, what was he trying to say? The Detective shone the LED light on the disk in search of any abnormal lighting pattern…nothing he could detect. The disk looked harmless as he seemed to mark the direction they had taken towards the end of the tunnel. He walked gingerly over the data disk and as he pried the disk free from the floor, noticed the infrared beam from the corner. The angle of the beam had fooled his goggles.

"Shit…"

The wall in front of him exploded loudly, and threw him a few feet back, hard against the opposite wall. The force of the explosion loosened part of the ceiling that came down heavily, causing a thick cloud of smoke. Then silence. Only the occasional piece of masonry falling from the ceiling was audible as they splashed on the wet surface of the tunnel. It took a moment for Batman to notice what had happened. He stirred in the debris as he tried to get up. The impact of the explosion had hit him hard. His body ached and he felt his head ringing under the cowl.

"That was very stupid…" Batman whispered to himself. "It's Joker, you idiot…always expect the unexpected."

"Batman…Bruce, you OK?" Barbara was saying loudly over the earpiece.

"Yes…yes. Don't scream…my head feels like it's about to explode."

"I'm sorry, but I've been calling you for the past five minutes and you didn't answer. What happened?"

"That long…?" The Detective answered not realizing he had been out that much time. "I fell for one of Joker's tricks. He set an explosive in the tunnel."

"Are you trapped in there?" Barbara said slightly alarmed.

Batman looked around. Amidst the dust and the floating debris, he could still see the tunnel. He rose from the floor aided by the wall beside him. He felt weak at the knees, and his muscles had started to ache. "I'm fine. The tunnel resisted…I'm going after Joker."

"I will alert the League and police…"

Batman started to slowly advance through the tunnel

"Wait… I see something up front." A few yards away the tunnel ended, just like Oracle had said. Beside the far end on the right hand side, was a metal stairway that went through an opening in the ceiling to a higher level. "Oracle…you sure this tunnel does not connect with anything else? I'm seeing stairs in front of me and they are going up."

"I didn't see anything in the plans. Let me run a comparison with the sewer maps. Maybe if I superimpose both set of maps…." There was a moment of silence. Batman walked over to the stairs and looked up. There was no light. "Looks like that particular tunnel you are in now runs parallel with one of the branches of the sewer system…but I don't see any communication between both systems. Maybe the stairs are new."

"You can still GPS my position, can you?" Batman said climbing up the stairs. Each step required a lot of effort.

"Yes…why?"

"Then confirm my position. I'm going up the stairs now to get that Clown."


	44. Closing Act

**_Author's note:_ **_Hello dear friends and welcome to another installment of this story. The noose is closing in our Clown Prince of Crime so extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary solutions. Hope you have enjoyed the ride so far, and I promise little more surprises for the end that I hope you will like as much. I have to thank all the friends for your support for this story. Every once in a while I get a note or a fave for this story and it is enouraging. This story would not exist if it wasn't for your, the readers. Thanks for being there._

DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and related characters belong to DC COMICS

DISCLAIMER 2: Some scenes contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Reader discretion is adviced

BETA: Thanks a million to the wonderful, ever efficient, ever helpful KICHI. Thanks for your help girl!!

**Chapter 44: Closing Act**

Joker pushed the lid on the manhole and with great effort slid it sideways to allow space for him and Blip. Michael was panting hard as he clung to the stairs with his healthy arm. The manhole opened to the back of a large apartment building, in the farthest end of an empty and run down basketball court. Nearby, a young man dressed up in a denim jacket and dirty torn jeans approached the hole in the ground. In his hand he held a receiver, into which he was talking about the strange occurrence.

Joker emerged from the hole and started to help Blip through when he noticed the young man staring at him.

"Well Junior, either you call the police or you can help me… But staring at me like that is not gonna do me any good." The Jester said, obviously tired and annoyed as he pulled his .38J. "So you have a choice. Either you help me pull my fat friend out, or I will give you a brand new breathing hole in that head. Believe me, your brain will appreciate the breeze. What do you say…kid? Help the good ol' clown, or die?"

"You heard that, Terry? It's him alright." The boy said to the receiver as the man with green hair came out of the manhole. He put his receiver away. "J-joker? Boss?"

The Clown Prince smiled.

"Most of the time I am. Are you one of Mad Dog's boys?" The young man nodded. The Jester pulled with all his might on the hacker without much success. Michael seemed to not want to get out of the hole. He had his arms wrapped tightly around the ladder and he was too heavy for Joker to pull up by himself. The Jester put his gun away. "Mind giving me a hand? My friend is wounded and in dire need of a diet. I'm gonna have to cut your sweets, Blip…or I can always sew your lips shut."

The boy put the receiver away and joined the Jester in pulling Blip out of the ground. It seemed like a superhuman effort, but between the two of them they were able to pull the hacker through the manhole. Michael groaned as he hit the hard pavement beside the hole. "We weren't expecting you…like this, Boss. What happened to the trailer?"

"Casualties of war…Did Carl arrived yet with our guests?" The Joker replaced the lid on the manhole.

"The bitch? Yeah…"

"Great. Hear that, Blip …? I'm not crazy. Even HE thinks she's a bitch." Joker boasted, falling into a crazy laughting fit. Michael groaned again. "Yeah, I know…life's a bitch right now."

More people, men and women, all wearing denim clothes joined the Joker and Blip by the opening. Among them a large man in his mid thirties with jet black hair pulled in a ponytail, and a large scar running along the right side of his face knelt beside the clown.

"Boss, we need to get you in…for your safety."

"Sure, Terrence," Joker said rising from the floor and rubbing his hands together. "Is it just me, or it's freezing out here? Damn, it's cold! First help me seal this manhole… I have a bat on my tail and we have to prevent the city vermin from infesting us. It's our civic duty to this city. Serve and protect…then kill them all." The Clown Prince started to laugh loudly.

"Boss…?" The burly man said crooking and eyebrow.

"Just seal the lid…and I think Michael here is gonna need to be stitched up." Joker stood, dusted his green jacket and looked at the group gathered around him. He wrapped his arms around himself as he started to shiver. "…I would double security around here…we might see Bats or pigs sometime in the future. And one more thing, I will need a thicker jacket. This is not weather for a handsome Clown like me. I'm gonna turn into a popsicle. "

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman reached the top of the stairs and reached a horizontal tunnel that ran some twenty feet ahead. The space was cramped and humid, and he could see bloody hand prints scattered every few feet. Michael's wound was deeper that he thought, if it was still bleeding like this after all this time. The Detective still did not understand why Joker would keep the hacker up to this point. For the Clown, everybody was disposable, and that definitely included the hacker…so why was Joker willing to sacrifice being captured, by slowing down with a wounded associate. That didn't make any sense, but then…Joker's behavior was not making any sense lately.

He finally arrived to the end of the tunnel, which opened to a larger one that ran perpendicular to the one he was emerging from. He looked down and noted that he was very close to the floor. He jumped off the transverse tunnel onto the new one and remained crouched for a moment to regain his strength. He was so tired. Ever since the incident at the Docks, he had felt like a different man, his normal stamina and perseverance were gone, leaving him feeling very old and tired.

The Detective looked around him. This tunnel was twice as wide as the one he had left below, and seemed to extend equally in both directions. Which way did Joker go? Batman looked at the wall beside him and noticed more blood stains and a few hand prints. The prints looked as if someone was holding onto the wall while advancing, towards the left. Was that where they were headed? It was difficult to confirm. The Knight rose and walked around in search of confirmation that Joker turned left in the tunnel. There was none. He decided to take a chance and headed left, slowly, trying not to stumble on his tired feet.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terrence opened the door of the apartment to the Joker and his hacker. Blip needed the support of a few of the gang members to stay on his feet. The right sleeve of his shirt and jacket were blood stained and dry, while a small amount of blood was still visibly trickling down his hand.

The Jester took the center of the room, and with both hands, combed the wild curls in his head. He dusted his green jacket and cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen…your attention please." Joker said in a charismatic soft voice that quickly snared the attention of all the War Dogs in the room. "The enemy is closing in fast, and we need to be prepared for difficult moments ahead of us…" Terrence advanced a few paces to be close in front of the Jester. "You and your gang have always been there for me in the past Mad Dog, but this is gonna be a test like none before…The best thing will be to try and leave the country as soon as possible." The Jester raised an effusive hand. "I vote we should all go to New Guinea and mingle with the natives. It's gonna be a lot warmer than this city and I always wanted to wear one of those straw skirts and do the hula…"

"Joker?" Charley said coming from a room in the back. "What are you doing here so soon…?"

"Oh…hi Princess," the Jester said forcing a smile. Charley did not smile back. "We were intercepted by the Bat and the pigs. The trailer was lost and…"

"The pigs and the rodent YOU were supposed to kill, if I recall correctly…Where are Jake and the others…?" She spat in an angry tone as she advanced to meet the Clown Prince up close.

Joker looked around inquisitively. "They're not here? I told them where to meet, I swear. Oh my…I'm so sorry. They must have been intercepted by either the police or the Batman…I'm really…."

TWACK!

Everybody in the room stared at the angry woman who had just slapped the Jester on the face. Joker just glared at her, but as calm as he could be, while she came close to his face.

Charley huffed furiously. "You were supposed to protect them, Joker….they were your responsibility…"

'"You are not being fair Princess…look at me," Joker said sheepishly. "Tired and dirty after hardly escaping with my life. And look at Blip…" He motioned to Michael who sat in a state of stupor, while he was been attended by few of members of the gang that were nursing the nasty cut on his shoulder. "He got the worst of the attack…he almost didn't make--."

TWACK!!

Charley slapped the Clown again, and Joker stood his ground while his eyes narrowed to tiny slits. The temperature in the room seemed to go down by several degrees, even when all the windows were closed and the heating system was going at full blast. Some of the War dogs backed off from the pair sensing the change in the atmosphere. The woman was pushing her luck with the Boss…

"I don't care if your pet nerd gets an ingrown nail, much less if he drops dead right now. We had a deal…the Leopards would help you destroy the Batman, and we did our part. What have you given us…? The only thing I have gotten from you is an ulcer. I am very disappointed and I told you that my patience was running thin…"

'_Ulcer? You got and ulcer? I can take care of your ulcer'_ Joker thought to himself while he remembered he was carrying a good amount of lead Alka-Seltzer in his jacket. It had served to calm the ulcer Jake and the other Leopards had given him. Maybe he could share some with her… _'Kill her now, kill her now…'_

Joker shook his head. "You fail to understand the things I have done for you…to get your cattery out of the police grip. I have never done the things I did for you people for anyone else before. You are special…and you dance very well. It's just that I wasn't expecting the Batsap to be alive this long and those things happen…" Charley tried to slap the Joker a third time when the Clown Prince caught her hand before she could make contact. The carved smile in the Jester's face had turned into an evil sneer. "And I would appreciate if you refrain yourself from this behavior Princess…for your own good. I don't appreciate been treated this way. It hurts, ruins my hairdo…and will cause you even more pain if you continue..."

Charley pushed herself off from the Joker, but the Jester held her tightly against him. He knew her fighting style, and knew that limiting the space between them would handicap her ability to maneuver, especially when her anger had already made her lose her focus. She tried to hit him again with the other hand but he quickly dodged the slap. He took the opportunity of Charley's momentum to connect his knee solidly with the leader's stomach. Charley let out a painful grunt as she bent over. The Clown Prince growled and pushed the Leopard leader against the furniture. Charley stumbled into the coffee table and fell on her side by the love seat. She tried to quickly recover her footing and drew her automatic, only to find that half the room had guns aimed at her and the other Leopards in the room. She was outnumbered this time.

"ARE YOU DEAF? I'll spell it out for you." The Joker said irate as he started to gesticulate in a made up sign language. "Stop slapping the Clown. The last person that treated me like this was my father and I burned the son of a bitch to a crunchy crisp, so if you don't want to end up like him….STOP. BEATING. ME! If I need me to repeat myself, I'm sure my .38 speaks much clearer English than me. Would you like to speak to her?" Joker said pulling out his gun.

Charley stared angrily at the infuriated Clown in front of her. His eyes glowed with an inner fire that she had not seen before, definitely not in the Joker. Was he telling the truth or was he just bluffing? It was hard to tell, but that fire behind the Jester's eye looked sincere and dangerous. He really meant every word he had said, and a man that killed his own father was capable of doing anything else. For the first time Charley felt a chill. What had she gotten herself into?

"Go ahead…shoot." Joker said dead calm with his gun resting low in his hand beside him. The tone of his voice was as cold as ice. The only noise in the room was of the Jester's soft tapping of his feet on the floor. He was clearly losing his patience. "I dare you, girl. Pull the trigger and my friends here will make you look like Swiss cheese in less time than it takes you to put on your lipstick."

Charley instinctively responded aiming away her gun. "You… betrayed…my trust." The tone of her voice was acid and dark.

"Is that what is this all about?" The Joker said smiling softly. "You think I have not kept my word? You know my reputation, sweetheart and you're still breathing…doesn't that tell you something about our relationship?"

"That you are not done playing with me yet…" Charley let out dryly.

"You're not stupid, I like that, but that is not what I meant." Joker said starting to laugh loudly. His face softened up and his mouth extended in a large happy smile as he replaced his gun on his jacket. "Betrayal is such a harsh word to use, Princess. Our plans have been...temporarily postponed, that's all. So if it takes the Bat five days to die instead of three…no biggie. Get some buttered popcorn and relax. The show is gonna continue and you will see the rodent expire. You are such a melodramatic queen…are you in heat or something?"

"My men, Joker…It was your responsibility to keep them safe." Charley put her gun back in her holster.

"And I will…whatever is left of your cattery …I will reunite you with them real soon. I promise, because I am a man of my word, Charley. What Joker promises, Joker delivers, remember?" Joker smiled and adjusted his tie and vest, walked over to the fallen gang leader offered her a hand. "Now, could we forget the past and start anew…our future is uncertain if we stay lunging at each other's throats, you know? And besides our differences…I still love you. You remind me so much of me…"

Charley ignored the hand and got up on her own. She suddenly got startled when Blip yelped as his wound was being stitched up. The hacker put up a handkerchief to his mouth and looked away from the group. Joker moved closer towards Charley arms outstretched as if about to give her a hug.

"Don't…touch me." Charley answered backing off and brushing his hands away. "If you want to earn my trust again…you better get the Leopards out of the pig's custody and kill the bat…after which you give me this fucking city like you promised…"

"Deal…"The Clown Prince said while Charley walked away, her gang following close. "And in the meantime, let's get some plane tickets and practice the hula…you with me Princess?"

"Screw you…" She responded walking back to her gang members by the window.

"I will take that as a yes…" Joker said clasping his hands in front of him and walked towards the hacker who sat with an tired look in his face, while a girl bandaged his arm. Blip looked sleepy, his eyes half open while he rested his head on his hand. "Blip, how are you doing….?

"I'm gonna die…" Michael mumbled as he held his head between his hands. The expression in the hacker's face was one of exhaustion and defeat. Blip looked over a hundred years old.

Joker laughed and Terrence and his gang looked abstractedly at the grinning Clown. "Not on my watch, kid. Now boys…I need the heavy artillery and don't you have a computer here I could use, Terrence? I will also need transportation…whatever you got and big enough to fit everybody this time."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman continued down the tunnel, when he found a metal stair that climbed up to a round close opening to the ceiling. A manhole. He examined the stairs and noted some blood on the rungs. Some droplets of blood had also splattered on the ground at the base of the stairs. Blip must have used this ladder, and Joker would definitely have followed the hacker. He started gingerly up the steps until he reached the opening. He pushed on the lid, without luck. He was almost sure Joke had used this exit recently, but it was obvious that he would seal the exit after he left. Joker knew that Batman was close behind and the Jester would also have rigged the lid, the same way he did with the trailer at the mall. Joker was becoming predictable. This exit was not going to work. He went down the ladder to ground level.

"Oracle, I found the exit Joker used, but it's sealed and probably booby trapped. Where exactly am I?"

"You are on the back of a residential building complex in Delaney and Clark… it's two or three miles east from the mall."

"Is there any other exit available…?"

"According to the map I have- and I'm hoping it is up to date- there is another manhole about a thousand feet to your right."

Batman looked beside him. "I have a wall to my right."

"Yes, I can see. Just keep walking in the same general direction you were and you will find a small tunnel to your right. It's small, so you will probably need to crouch. It's going to turn around and at the end you will see the stairs. You should reach it in approximately five minutes…two more to the stairs."

"OK. I'm advancing. I think it will be safe to call the police department now. Joker would like to probably leave as soon as possible from this place and we have to intercept him before he's able to disappear again."

"Got it. I'm contacting the Department right now. Tell me when you reach the exit."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker sat at the computer in Terrence's room. Blip sat on the bed beside him with the look on his face of someone who has been beaten to a pulp. Michael's right arm was in a sling and his face was pale and sweaty. The hacker's gray eyes looked distant. He was searching through his backpack with his healthy arm.

"Blip, you gotta help me here…I need to pay for these tickets and I have no fucking idea where all the money went."

"How much you need…?"

"I dunno….twenty grand…? The Jester piped sheepishly with a shrug.

Michael closed his eyes as he forced himself to think. He was too tired to think of anything else but a bed, especially far away from this crazy place and the crazy boss. "Try the Segovia National in Spain. The account number is six…nine…two…"

They were suddenly interrupted by 'Mad Dog' Terrence storming into the room accompanied with two other members of his gang. The face of the gang leader was not friendly.

"Boss…we need to talk to you…" Terrence said gruffly.

"Can't you wait until we are out of the country…?" Joker said looking at Terrence through the reflection in the computer monitor. "I'm busy at the moment. Really…REALLY busy."

"It has to do with that woman, Charley."

Joker shook his head. "Really Terry, I'm not responsible for defects of workmanship… and no, I didn't even buy a warranty on the fucking bitch, so if she's broken…just fix her any way you want. I really don't care.…" The Jester giggled.

Terrence looked at the Joker as someone looks at weird bug. "But you were going to give her the city. We've always backed you up Joker, and you make deals with out of town gangs….?

Joker looked at Michael who stared back with wide terrified eyes and then turned around to face the large man. He studied the large scar on his face with great amusement. He remembered making that scar a long time ago. Now the scarred mad dog was working for him. Ironic. "Is that why you are all fuzzed up, Terry? You're jealous of the little kitten?" Joker cackled and cleared his throat. "Terrence, ma' boy. You will always be my number one man, you know that. But sometimes we are forced to…make alliances we might not especially like and we end with things...like her. There is no need to worry about the new pet in the household. She's not going to take the place of my favorite 'Mad dog' and his pooch pack. "

"We're not your pets, Joker…"

"And who said YOU were the pets…? You're family. I was talking about cats…Leopards more specifically. I had need of her…but you are like a son to me." The Jester smile widened.

"So the deal with the bitch is off?"

"Deal…what deal? I don't recall any deal, do you Blip?" Joker responded looking at Michael over the bed, who was trying to make himself invisible within the room. The hacker didn't want to stay when he knew were all this was heading to. And it didn't help that the Boss insisted on bringing him to the conversation. Blip started to hyperventilate as he tried his best not to stutter, then Joker started to laugh. "See Terry, nothing to worry about."

"She's annoying as hell, and now she's locked in the bedroom with her pack. I don't trust her."

"Neither do I. I've been having bad vibes about her for a while now. Better to be prepared for anything. You can do that, can you?"

"You want me to kill her?"

"No, no, no…let's leave the murder for after the commercial break. We have a show to run…and we are going on a tour." Joker said waving his hands above his head and giggled. "Jokermania 2008, the Sidney Experience."

"You're crazy."Terrence pressed on when the Jester stopped his antics and stared angrily at Mad Dog. "What is it in for us if we decided to stay?"

"Hard one. Let me see. I will increase your shipments…what about that? If you get more dust…you can sell more dust. And you will cover this city in white. You can make this Christmas a REALLY WHITE Christmas. "

"Why not the city…?" Terrence said. Joker smiled maliciously. Boy, this man was pushy…

"But Terry…the city is already yours. I just rent the space for my shows. You're the biggest dealer on this side of town and nobody can touch you. You think that comes because of your pretty face? I don't think so…I take care of my own, boy."

Terrence stared at the Jester with some type of reserve. He didn't know how to take the Clown's voice. True he had kept him well supplied in money and drugs all this time, but this was the first time he had known of the Joker's dealings with outside gangs. Was this Clown getting tired of Terrence and his men? It was hard to say…for now, he believed that the Joker meant what he said. His association with the gang extended for a long time now, and there was no reason to think that the Joker would double cross him. At the same time…he was dealing with the Joker, and the Clown was totally out of his mind…

"Can we have some confirmation of your…commitment to the War Dogs?"

"Free rabies shots and de-wormings for everybody." The Jester announced jovially. Neither Terrence nor his two friends seemed too amused by the joke. Joker sighed. "Not even new flea collars? Boy, you're a tough crowd to please, but if you must …here. A token of my appreciation." The Jester said searching on the pocket of his trousers and pulling out the Green Lantern Ring. He deposited the ring on Terrence's hand.

"What's this…?"

"What does it look like Terry…? A ring. It's the most powerful ring in the universe."

Terrence examined the small green ring in his hand. "A Green Lantern ring. Is this the real thing? How did you--?"

"Of course it is. I won it in a bet. " Joker laughed. "I wouldn't give it to you if it wasn't, now would I? I don't know how it works, but you can have it if you want. A trophy…to show off with your pooches. Now that you know which is my favorite breed…do we have a deal?"

"Got it boss. We'll keep the bitch under surveillance…until you tell us otherwise." Terrence said still admiring the ring in his hand. "Wow…thanks."

"Good, boy. Now go play with the other puppies while I take us all out of here…hope you like New Zealand. Any further south and we would have dinner with the penguins…"

Terrence nodded, turned on his heels and headed out of the room followed by the other gang members. Once by himself, Joker went back to the computer screen.

"What was that…?" Blip asked still trying to understand what Joker had done.

"What?" Joker quipped returning to the computer screen where his connection to the net had logged off.

"What you just did with Mad Dog Terrence. What was all that about?"

"It's called diplomacy. With that ring in his possession, Terrence knows where my loyalties lie. And this computer is a piece of dinosaur crap." Joker tried to re-establish the internet link.

"You just gave him the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"And…?" Joker responded looking paternally at Michael.

"You know what he can do with that ring?"

"With some luck, produce some tiny sparks for the next Fourth of July." The Jester pulled his chair close to the hacker. "Here is some GL trivia for you, Blip. Power rings select their holders and bond to their respective Green Lantern and would only respond to their will, which reminds me… Stuart must not have kicked the bucket or that ring would have flown to find a new recruit. Damn…I must be losing my touch. Why is it so difficult to kill these days? Maybe 'cause of inflation or the cost of lead… Anyways, that ring is totally useless to me and in Terrence's hand is as dangerous as a tub of cotton candy, while he thinks it makes him special. Don't you think he would appreciate me patting his back like this? "

Blip's mouth gaped open. "And what if he ever finds out that he can't use that ring? You think he would like to be tricked like that? That was one risky move, Boss…you got some nerve." Michael said softly.

"It's not nerve, Blip. It's a dark and twisted sense of humor and I really hope he doesn't find out, because I really like that puppy." Joker sighed and shrugged smugly. "Well, there goes my diplomacy course…I will just stick to being a murderous clown. It's what I like to do anyways. What was that bank account again…?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman arrived at the end of the tunnel. By the wall, like Barbara had predicted, there was a metal ladder leading up to another manhole. He started to climb up when he felt the right side of his body cramp. He held tightly with his left arm around the pole.

He was weak and he had not slept at all in the last few days. To make things worse, he was sore after falling through the tunnel at the mall and he was still sore from the explosion in the tunnels. He could feel the exhaustion gaining on him. Still he had to gather strength to go on. The Joker was just a few steps ahead, the closest he had been to stopping the Clown in weeks. He couldn't stop now. He held the ladder pole in his right hand and forced himself up until he got to the manhole cover. He pressed on it slightly and the lid gave way slightly. He opened a compartment in his belt and pulled a small monitor, not larger than an iPod nano with a long flexible cable attached to it and a tiny camera at the end. The Detective pushed the lid up enough to get the end of the cable out and turned on the monitor where a nice image of the outside appeared in vivid color.

Batman manipulated the tiny camera to get the best view of the area around the manhole. He saw only one female, wearing a denim jacket and ragged jeans walking alongside the manhole. She was quickly joined by a man who wrapped her hands around her.

"You look so sexy when you're on patrol, Amy…" The man said kissing the woman on her lips.

"Get off…you want Terrence to know I'm playing you too?" The woman responded pushing him away and slapping him on the shoulder.

"He's not paying attention now that the Clown is here." The man said trying to kiss her again.

"What part of 'get off me' don't you understand, Bill? The woman responded angrily. "I'm not in the mood. It's too freaking cold."

"Ok, then let me warm you up a little…"

"BILLY, BACK OFF!!" Amy yelled pushing Bill away so hard that he almost lost his balance.

"OK, OK, I get it, I get it. You've seen anything?"

"No, not even the tip of his ears. He's not coming. You here to take over my shift?"

"Yes ma'am…" The man answered.

"Good, because I'm getting tired of freezing my butt off out here." The woman wrapped her arms around her while covering her hands inside the long sleeves of her jacket. "Tonight it's too fucking cold for even the Bat to show up. This is a waste of time. Good luck."

The man tried to kiss the woman again but she was gone before he could even come close. "Ok, keep trying to be the difficult one, but don't forget who makes you squeal in bed…" The man said as he started to walk away from the manhole blowing warm air on his hands as he rubbed them together. "Man that woman is so hot!!"

Batman quickly checked behind him to make sure the woman was gone. She was nowhere to be found. Good. He would need some privacy to take care of this man. He spoke softly to his microphone.

"Oracle…I'm here and I have a positive on Joker…he's here somewhere. See if we can get a hold of J'onn with a more specific location. I'm going in…"

"OK. I have your location on the GPS. The Police is on its way and I will alert the League. Take care."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Joker walked out of the bedroom and into the living room where Terrence and a few of his men were sitting cleaning their guns. He was smiling wide, while Blip was walking close to him. "Well…we are ready to leave the stage. Got tickets to get out of the country and we just need some transportation…were you able to get something?"

"We have a six vehicles waiting for your orders." Terrence responded. "That should be enough."

"Good…then let's get the hell out of here before it rains pigs and bats on our parade." At that moment blue and red flashing lights were brightly visible through the windows. Everybody in the room tensed and one of Terrence's men peeked nervously through the window.

"There are about a dozen patrol cars out there, Terry." The man said hiding back behind the wall.

"You didn't tell me they were this close behind you, Joker. They know you're here." Terrence protested.

"They weren't supposed to be that close." The Clown protested. "There are seven buildings in this complex, and there is no way in hell they would know in which one I was hiding unless…"

"Are you insinuating I betrayed you…?" Mad Dog protested.

"I' really don't want to talk about it now. I don't think it's a good idea…" Joker responded as he noticed Charley and her men coming from the room on the back.

"I saw the lights…the police is having the building surrounded."

Terrence took his gun and aimed it at the Leopard leader. "You fucking bitch…you told the police we were here, and now we are getting busted because of you."

"What the fuck is he talking about?" Charley responded drawing her gun. Her gang followed suit and in a few seconds everyone was aiming their guns at someone else in the room. Joker got in between Terrence and Charley.

"Hold on, hold on. This is not gonna work. I need you both alive if I am to get out of this in one piece."

"But don't you see that she called the cops on you after what happened to her gang?"

Joker turned around. "Princess…?"

"What the--? Joker I don't like you, but calling the cops was not my idea. You have to believe me."

"Hmmm…let me think for a moment." Joker said resting his chin over a crooked finger.

"This is unbelievable…." Charley protested.

"This is all your fault, bitch!" Terrence yelled.

"OK, OK…I believe you, Princess and if you two have finished insulting each other I think I have a plan." Joker interrupted. "You guys mind if we discuss this in a more…private place for a moment?"

"What's going on, Joker? Why all this mystery?" Charley protested.

"I love Alfred Hitchcock and a good game of Clue…now come with me please Mr. and Mrs. Plum"

Joker guided them to a room in the back of the apartment and closed the door behind him. "It seems I kind of underestimated the resources of the rodent and his friends. I think we have a tell tale among the group."

"And you think I'm the tell tale." Princess responded angrily.

"I don't know who it is or where he is. What I know is that we have to leave now or all our plans go in a cloud of smoke…or maybe a mushroom cloud. Whatever comes first and I don't want to be here when that happens."

"And you have a plan, Boss?"

"Of course I do. That's why they call me the Boss. They want me…because I'm the sexy, intelligent one that started this mess…so let them focus on me. Terrence, Princess…I need you to get out of here and meet me in a specified location I will reveal to you in just a moment. Don't tell anybody where you're heading. Let it be a surprise…keep our spy guessing."

"And what about you?" Charley asked. "Because I know you're just not doing this to buy us time."

"No, I'm doing this because I'm bored and I feel like playing with the pigs. OINK, OINK." Joker said with a cackle.

"They are going to kill you…" Terrence said with concern. "It's not a good plan."

"No they will not, they need me alive. And it's the only plan we have, unless you want to face the anger of the police and the Batman. Either they arrest only me, or they arrest us all, it's that simple. And you know they can't keep a good clown down for too long anyways so my stay behind bars is gonna be like a vacation to Hawaii. I'll be waiting to hear from you when I'm too bored in my little cell. Then we can finish this lesson...if there is anything left."

"What the fuck did you do, Joker…because you must've done something really bad to be so sure they won't blow your head off. And you keep talking like the world is gonna end or something." Charley asked with curiosity.

"My world ends every night when I go to sleep, only to be re-imagined when I wake up in the morning. The world according to Joker, that's the way it is since the beginning of time and I not only did something really, really bad but I'm the only who can fix it, so yeah, they will keep my head on my shoulders for a little longer. Now I would like to have you leave this place and meet me in this unspecified location." The Jester said extending a written piece of paper to each gang member. Charley tried to take a look at the written name on the paper when Joker stopped her.

"No…not peeking. Our spy could be a mind reader for all we know. Read the name of the place only when you are safe…"

"How do you plan on avoiding the police? Terrence asked. "Because you're just not going to wait for them here, are you Boss?"

"I'm working on a plan, boy, but worry on finding a way to get through the little cop army outside." The Jester responded returning to the living room. "Now everybody SCRAM! Blip…you're with me."


	45. Spirit of the Season

_**Author's note:** Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay on posting but my mind feels sometimes like in a million places at the same time. One of the main things have been the hurricane season in the Atlantic. We are getting very nervous with all the activity here in Florida. Anyways, done with the excuses. Here is another little installment of this long story. Thank you for all your feedback on the story as well as your loyalty. For those of you out there...know that I would love to here you if youhave not let your word being heard. Reviews are always good, soothe the soul and stir the muse. Hope you like this little chapter. It was written with great love, and I hope I'm able to keep you all interested. This story is nothing without the fans. Thank you for your support._

_DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and related characters belong to DC. Michael Garibaldi is mine, and you can use him as long as you respect him and give proper credits._

_DISCLAIMER 2: In some instances there is the use of MATURE LAGUAGE and MATURE SITUATIONS. Please reader be advised._

_BETA: This is another wonderful job from KICHI. Thank you girl. Where would I be without your help? :)_

**Chapter 45: Spirit of the Season**

Terrence removed a few tiles from the floor and pulled out a box that he set beside him. A blonde girl from Terry's gang opened the box and started to remove high power rifles and started to sort them between the other gang members. Charley looked on attentively. This gang had enough fire power to put out a powerful front against the police. On the other hand, she and her gang hardly had enough weapons to protect themselves. The only thing she had for her protection was her faithful magnum with one more round of ammunition, while only half of her Leopards still carried a gun. The odds were not looking good for her.

Terrence looked at her as he pulled the last of the six boxes of weapons. When the girl beside him was about to open the box, he put a hand on top and told her to hold. He stood and walked over to Charley. She held tightly to her gun, because she really didn't trust him.

"I don't know why the Boss still trusts you because I don't, but if he says he still needs you, he still needs you." Terry looked behind him and motioned the girl in denim to get away from the box. "If you are going to fight the pigs, Charley, you will need more than that toy gun you got. Take the last box and load your people. The rest is up to you."

Charley nodded silently. Terry signaled his men to follow him as he left the apartment cautiously. The Leopard leader walked over the box and started to pull some rifles and handguns that she handed to the rest of her gang. They weren't as many as she would have preferred but at least they will give her a fighting chance against the police. She quickly got ready to leave the apartment, when she saw the Jester speaking softly to the hacker.

"You sure you're not coming?" She called to the Clown Prince.

Joker brushed her away. "No, I'm putting on a show for the pigs… now GO!"

The Jester grabbed a UZI and held tightly to the strap. Charley looked at Blip who immediately turned away from her to gaze back at the Jester. These two must be crazy, she thought as she motioned her men out of the apartment. Staying here with the police that close on their asses was like suicide. But then again, Joker seemed as if he had wanted to die for a long time now, and Blip was so into Joker that she wondered if the guy had a mind of his own. She finally exited the apartment leaving Blip and his Clown to his crazy plan.

"This is insane." Michael said putting the bag with his electronic equipment and memory cards over his healthy shoulder. "We don't stand a chance."

"We? Who said anything about us?"

"Aren't we staying behind…?"

"I'm staying behind," Joker said swinging another UZI over his shoulder. "You are going to leave this building incognito, while those two idiots of Terry and Charley keep the pigs busy."

"Me…?" Michael responded with obvious trepidation on his voice. Alone? What was he going to do all by himself? "And where would I go…?"

"Away. You escaped from Dumbwing no?"

"That was pure luck. This…this is different."

"You have the diagram of the building and the tunnels so use them. Be creative. You are too valuable to fall into the police's grip and though I find it very tempting to kill you just for giggles, I realize you are the only one I can really trust. I might be a crazy Clown but I'm not stupid, Blip. I need cash to move around and put up a show, and with you I know my stay in Arkham will not be too long, right genius? They don't have a sense of humor in there."

"Where are we meeting afterwards…?"

"It doesn't matter where we meet. Just go. They want me…they will focus on me and with THEM to entertain the police, hopefully they will forget about you. Just keep my money tree healthy and growing for the next show." Joker noticed the blank look on Blip's face. Blip was starting to understand that Joker might not be planning of getting out of this one. He aimed one of the UZIs at the hacker's face. "But if plan A is too much for you, we can resort to Plan B where I torture you a little before I kill you so you can't tell the police of our little financial enterprises. There is a good possibility you might not like this plan, but let me tell you...it will make my day. There are some things the cops don't need to know about, and my financial solvency is one of them." Joker aimed his UZI at Michael's head and smiled. "Well, what's it gonna be, Einstein?"

Michael's eyes widened with terror. After seeing what the Joker had done in the last two days, and how easily he had disposed of whatever had become a hassle, Blip didn't doubt Joker would pull the trigger. He turned around and after looking gingerly into the hall, he left the apartment leaving the Joker alone.

"Kids…they are always scared of leaving the nest," Joker said aloud as he walked over to the bedroom where he had left his bag with the rest of his weapons. He looked inside and confirmed that he still had quite a few of the gas bombs and a few more clips of ammunition. This plan was insane and would require all the resources he could get a hold on. The Clown Prince looked around the empty hall and walked towards the far left corner, towards the bathroom. Before he reached the bathroom door he put a hand over the wall while he tapped several times along the white surface with his other hand until he heard a hollow thump. He searched on his pockets and pulled a single marble grenade. This was the last of his explosive arsenal, not good if he still had to face the pigs and probably the Batman but it would have to do to open a door.

"Here goes nothing," Joker said pressing both halves of the marble together to make a perfect sphere. He quickly put himself at a safe distance, tossed the grenade against the wall where it exploded leaving a large hole. He approached the wall and started kicking away the blocks until he had a big enough hole for him to squeeze though. For a moment he felt like he was escaping from the asylum all over again.

"I'm tired of being me. It's time to work your magic, Clown. This is your thing. Let the rodent go after you and have fun." Joker said as he looked around the hole and confirmed it was the elevator shaft. As he looked down he could see the roof of the elevator a few stories below. The coast was safe and clear. With some effort he entered the shaft and after holding onto a bundle of cables by the wall started to climb towards the service ladder in the wall beside him and once he held onto the ladder, he started to climb up the shaft. Joker started to giggle as he went up the ladder, quickly escalating to a loud hysterical laughter. "This is so much fun, Jack…just like at the Asylum. Cat and mouse, Bat and clown. History of our lives, eh Batsy? So much fun…It's so good to be back. MUAHAHAHAHA!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman was going up the stairs between the third and fourth level when he was surprised by gunfire from above. He quickly took cover, but not before seeing four men with guns in their hands and coming down to meet him. He needed to get past these men. Information from J'onn relayed to him by Oracle confirmed that the Joker was in an apartment on the sixth floor. He needed to get to that apartment before the Jester was able to escape and time was against him.

The Knight reached his utility belt and pulled a few smoke capsules. He let the capsules fall on the floor and stepped on them producing a thick cloud of gray smoke that quickly filled the stair well. Batman put his infrared goggles back on and started up the stairs to meet with the men. There was some more gunfire and Batman noticed one of the thugs was hit by friendly fire. He tumbled over the rail, landing on the first floor with a loud thud. Three thugs, one hero. The odds were starting to even out.

He continued up the stairs slowly, not losing sight of the thugs that still tried to advance at him while lost in the cloud of smoke. Bruce came face to face with the first of the men, and he aimed his gauntlet and fire two rubber bullets from the top of the modified armor. The man let go of his weapon and fell unconscious by the wall.

Batman kicked the gun off the staircase and advanced another flight of stairs only to find the two remaining henchmen in front of him. The smoke had started to dissipate slowly, and the Knight could make the bulk of the two figures. He knew that if he could see them, they could see him. Swinging both hands at the same time, he connected solidly with the two henchmen's faces. The men lost their balance and fell down the stairs. As they tried to get up, Batman clutched the rail and gave a strong kick to first thug at his right. The man let go of his automatic and fell on his knees against the rail. Trying to regain his equilibrium, the man held onto his associate, who, startled by the unexpected touch, opened fire wildly. Batman crouched trying to avoid the bullets, but the kneeling associate took some of those bullets in his torso, and fell lifelessly onto the stairs.

While crouching, Batman kicked the last of the gunmen, who lost his balance and fell on his back. The Knight jumped on him removing the gun from the man's hand with a kick as he fired another pair of rubber bullets to the man's head and chest. The thug did not move anymore. After leaving the two men behind, the Detective continued up the stairs until he reached the sixth floor.

"Oracle…I'm on the sixth floor." Batman said gingerly peeking down the empty hall as he left the stairs. "I just encountered four gunmen. They were not wearing black leather outfits, but rather blue denim jackets with a Rottweiler in military gear on their backs. Joker must have hired more than one gang to help him."

"Those are War dogs. Joker must've hired local muscle now that the Leopards have been busted." Barbara made a short silence as she tapped on her computer. "And according to J'onn's latest message, they were all hiding in apartment 661. I will notify the police of your location. Alfred called. He had to take Dick to the hospital. He looked really bad, and was unresponsive."

Damn. Now Dick was out as well, and Batman himself did not feel any better. His muscles ached and he had to concentrate twice as hard to move around without being sloppy. His usually lighting fast reflexes felt sluggish and very clumsy. He had to focus. He was so close…

"Thanks for the update, keep me posted. The apartment is at the end of the hall…" Batman responded as he advanced swiftly down the hall to find the apartment open and apparently empty. "…and it looked as if someone had left in a hurry and forgotten to close the door behind them." He was about to peek inside the apartment when two new War dogs, appeared down the hall, automatics held tightly in their hands.

"Hey, look here…the bat," one of the men said opening fire at the Batman, who just in time jumped into the open apartment to dodge the bullets. Another round of bullets hit the door frame as the Detective closed the door behind him, securing the lock. This would not hold them for long. Joker might have offered a good sum of money for his head, and these men were not going to pass the opportunity on the extra cash. Batman even wondered who might be waiting inside the apartment for his timely arrival. He tensed as he turned around and looked over the empty living room.

"You OK?" Barbara asked through the communicator in Batman's cowl. "Heard gunfire."

"I'm fine. Found two more War Dogs heavily armed."

On his left he noticed six empty boxes by the large sofa. The writing on the boxes confirmed that they had carried police weapons. Batman wondered how these thugs were able to get a hold of such firepower. Joker's henchmen were more sophisticated than before, where disposable thugs would have been the norm for the Clown. How much had Joker been changing over time? Maybe this return to pseudo sanity was not as recent as the Jester made it look. Only a sane man would plan all these details so meticulously.

The Knight walked toward the back of the apartment and down the hall that lead to the bedrooms. In one of the bedrooms he noted a laptop and beside the computer was one of Joker's gas bombs. It was all too convenient location for the explosive Batman thought, but the sphere seemed to have been abandoned there involuntarily. The Knight entered the room and put his oxygen mask on as he approached computer that he tried to turn on without much success. Blip must have crashed this system too.

The War dogs forced the front door open and entered the apartment, rapidly scrutinizing the interior in search of the Batman. He could hear the men giving instructions to separate and search the apartment. The Knight walked over the laptop and picked up the Joker sphere. The Detective looked into the smiling face and noted the green bubbly liquid that confirmed the bomb was active, but the sphere was not set to detonate. This was an involuntary mistake on the Clown's part and one that he will have to thank Joker, or Jack …or whoever he thought he was at the moment for leaving such a handy weapon behind. He took a tiny bottle from his utility belt and poured a few drops into the small opening on top. He shook the sphere, and the inside fluid changed from its characteristic green color to a bright blue one. Batman triggered the mechanism of the bomb and released it on the living room where it started to release a blue cloud of smoke.

"Joker venom, RUUUUNNNN!" one of the thugs yelled as he and his associate left the apartment in a hurry. Batman leaned over the corner of the hall and noticed he was all alone at last. Little did those thugs imagine that the Batman had neutralized the active ingredient of the Joker's venom included within the sphere, leaving behind a harmless blue liquid that produced the harmless blue haze within the room. He looked around and noticed the large hole on the side of hall and leaning in front of the hole took a look inside. The elevator shaft. What was this hole doing here? Was this an escape route used by the Joker and his men?

Batman turned around, looked up the shaft, and saw a green scarf tied in knot from one of the elevator cables a few feet above. He zoomed in the strange object. It was not a scarf, but the Clown's green handkerchief. Joker was giving him a clue, but why? Did he want him to follow up the shaft? If it was, it must be a trap…what else? The Knight started to walk away from the hole when he turned around and peeked once more though the wall. And what if this is what the Joker wanted to do, to try other route? He would have to trust his gut and climb the elevator shaft all by himself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Charley heard the explosion in the upper level. She wondered if that was part of the Clown plans to finally be arrested by the police. If that was the case, she admired the Joker's balls, for as insane as it may seem, it required gall to confront the police by himself. But then, some insane people knew no fear, and Joker was the most insane and unpredictable man she had ever known. There was not enough time to think about Joker now. She needed to leave the apartment complex soon and as inconspicuously as she could, or the next stop on her Gotham tour would be the City's Penitentiary. She and her gang were already on the third floor and heading to the west side of the building where she remembered seeing the least amount of cops. She hoped it would still be a viable route of escape.

She sent two scouts to investigate and the results came back fast. There were no patrol cars in this area, but lots of black sedans with strange people in dark glasses and suits. The license plates on the cars were federal and Charley wondered why the Feds would be involved in trying to capture the Joker. This Clown had more dirt on him than he dared to admit, and that could mean trouble. She needed to know what she was dealing with before she could make a good escape. Charley thought of Jake and the others that were probably now in Federal custody. She never bargained for this. Her plan to ally herself with the Joker was to become rich and powerful in Gotham, not to end up on the ten most wanted list of the FBI.

This was her only way out of the building, and if the feds were involved, escaping would be close to impossible. Could this be the end of the road? Was escaping this place an impossible task? She remembered the note Joker gave her, and searching in her pockets, she pulled the piece of paper out and took a look. The note was the straw that broke the camel's back, the confirmation of the Clown's betrayal:

"_**Dear Princess. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's. My regards to Broadway and the Festival of Fools. No meeting before Armageddon. Yours truly, Sexy me!"**_

"That fucking son of a bitch…." Charley snarled angrily between clenched teeth as she ripped the note.

One of her henchmen approached her with concern. "Something wrong, Boss?"

"That Clown sent us out as cannon fodder. There is no meeting place afterwards. I can't believe this…"

"What are we going to do now…?"

"The only thing left here to do is mingle with the native Gothamites. This is not our town and they don't know us all. Some of us will be able to escape. Get to the rest of the gang in Brenton…this city is not Leopard friendly anymore."

"What about Jake and the others…?"

"I'm gonna find out right now…that Clown has betrayed his last associate in this lifetime." Charley said angrily, pulling her automatic from her jacket. "You guys get rid of the Leopard's uniforms and put on civilian clothes. Behave as any normal Gothamite would and hope for the best."

"Where are you going…?"

"I'm gonna kill myself a Clown." She said disappearing down the hall to the stairs she had used moments ago. She hoped the police had not raided the building just yet, and she could reach the apartment in time to get even with the reason for this mess.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terrence had heard the explosion on the upper floor. The police might have started to get into the building from above, and below was a sea of patrol cars that was going to be difficult to get through. He was still on the fifth floor, on the east side of the building, and searching for the building's service shaft. That shaft communicated with the tunnels in the basement and the tunnels underground that Joker had used to get out. That was his only way out, he prayed that the tunnels had not been completely sealed by the police. He only needed them to get around the police, and maybe it would be enough to make a successful escape.

He had never remembered being this close to getting arrested, because his association with Joker was always kept under wraps…until now. If the police captured him and his gang, they would know of all the dealings he had done with the Clown Prince over the years. That was definitely not good for him and not good for Joker, but the Clown had opted to fight alone and not risk his associates. Admirable…or was this all a well planned trap? With Joker he could never tell. He needed something that could reassure him that there was a chance of surviving this and that was when he felt the Green Lantern Ring in his pocket. He pulled the ring out and looked at it, with the interest of an eight year old.

He put the ring on, and though it felt slightly large for his finger, he clenched his fist to secure the ring in his hand. He concentrated hard. Terry knew that this ring, if it was the real thing, was a weapon of will and the power of the mind. And nobody had more will power than him at this moment. He had the will to survive. The ring in his hand glowed and he knew that Joker had not lied …this had to be the real thing.

"Ok boys," Terrence said showing the ring to his men. "We have a chance if we all stick together. Here is our secret weapon. We will show these pigs not to mess with the War dogs…"

They finally arrived at the service shaft on the fifth floor. Two of Terrence's men started to pick at the lock, while Terry and another War dog broke the window and started to open fire at the police below. The police was quick in responding fire with fire and the exchange of bullets began.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Blip had been successful in getting down to the second floor without being detected. Joker was right when he said that he had the best chance to get out of the building on his own, even if the idea scared the shit out of the hacker. So far since he left the apartment on the sixth floor he had not encountered any police resistance. Michael was not made for this type of action. All he ever wanted was to sit behind a computer and created viruses, hack complex systems, and have fun in the cyber media. He wanted to be like one of those hackers that became rich with their computer exploits…not to dodge bullets and batarangs.

He still remembered the batarang cut in his shoulder. It stung like a branding with a hot poker. He never dreamed of having to meet the Batman face to face. Never. Who in his right mind would like to face three hundred pounds of muscle and six feet something of pure anger in an armored bat costume? Only the Boss, but everybody knew Joker was insane, and facing the Dark Knight heads on was the most insane idea anybody could come up with. There was nothing new there, and everybody knew how obsessed the Clown was with the man in the Bat armor.

Well, the boss could have the bat all for himself for all he knew. Blip just had to focus now on a simple task. Get out of this building alive and in one piece. He had downloaded the original plans of the building onto his PDA, and he had known of several passages nobody would think of. These were passages that only maintenance people would use on very rare occasions, probably early during the building construction, and that now looked like the only way out of what could become a hell of gunpowder and Joker venom.

He arrived at the little compartmentalized door that he knew was at the bottom of the shaft and found the first problem. There was no door there anymore. '_That is what happens when you use plans that old, Blip_,' the hacker thought as he stopped momentarily to ponder in his options. _'You are now fucked, buddy._' He couldn't just stay here forever and risk being discovered, though he doubted that the police would ever think that anyone in their right mind would use these old shafts to escape. But then it was Joker they were dealing with, they would think of every minute detail and they would probably take the building apart brick by brick if they had to do a thorough search. Shit…he had even started to talk to himself, just like the Boss did. He needed to get out of here.

He was tired and his shoulder hurt, but he had to find a way out. He climbed a few rungs from the narrow ladder of the shaft and found an air duct. It didn't look like much but the size of the duct might be enough to fit a man inside. He patiently removed the screws holding the duct cover in place and kicked it down with all his strength.

Michael entered the now open duct and immediately noted the snug fit around his belly. Joker was right. He was in need of a diet. He drew in a deep breath, sucked his gut in, and with great effort pulled himself though the duct until he saw the first vent opening to the second floor. He looked around as best as he could, and seeing the coast clear, he pushed the vent out which fell with a loud clang onto the floor. Like a snake, Blip slithered out the vent and down the wall below landing on his injured shoulder. He moaned and tried to get up fast to avoid weight on his injury, when something hit him hard in the face. His vision tunneled and stars started to spark in front of his eyes as he hit the wall behind him.

Michael grunted as he tried to rise painfully from the floor, while the world started to spin around him. This was the end of the road. He had been busted. He saw a dark shadow and suddenly he was being kicked in the stomach forcing him to double up in pain.

"I surrender, I surrender, but p-please s-stop." Michael cried out from the floor trying to crawl away from his mysterious attacker that he suspected wore a cape and a cowl. Distance from his enemy was his only salvation.

"Come here you slimy li'l nerd." A voice said gravely, and Michael felt something grab him by the back of his jacket. "You're not going nowhere till you tell me where's my Puddin'."

"P-pudding? W-what?" Michael said as he saw the figure that had attacked him against the dim emergency lights of the hall. She was tall and slender, but at the same time powerful figure clad in red and black with a face as white as a ghost and two white tassels that fell over her shoulders. Her eyes burned with the fires from hell. "Harley…?"

Michael got slapped in the face. "Don't play games with me Blip…where's Joker? Where is my Jokie Pooh?"

"He is…" Michael started to say when he realized that it was a blessing finding Harley in this place. She got in through the police and she would be able to get him out. He would not need to be alone anymore. "Look, I will tell you everything if you just help me get out of here."

Harley slammed Blip against the wall which sent a shock of pain down the hacker's injured shoulder. Michael grimaced as he grinded his teeth. "No more games, Sugah. You've been keeping me away from my Puddin' too long. Now you tell me where he is or I'm gonna have to get rough with you…and you've not seen Harley angry yet. Where is he, Blip?"

"Hey, Harl…it's not my f-fault. I was just f-following orders, I swear. He t-told me to…"

"Blip, spit it out NOW!!"

"Ple-please Harley…help me out of here and I will t-tell you everything. I swear. Joker is so different that it's not f-funny anymore. There's something going on with him, something v-very wrong. I will t-tell you all, even where you can find him, but f-first, I need to get out of here in one piece. P-please?"

Harley stared angrily at the hacker who just looked back nervously. There were voices from the other rooms, and he knew that they wouldn't be alone for long. He needed to move fast. She rolled her eyes and let go of the hacker.

"'K Blip, but you tell me all, get it? I want to hear everything an' don't think yeh can fool me. If I even suspect you're lying to me…'am delivering you to the pigs myself …got that, cupcake?" Michael nodded silently as Harley signaled him to follow her down the hall. "Okey Dokey…first we need to get yeh new clothes and take those glasses off…you look like the nerd they're looking for."

"But I can't see without them…"

"If you don't do as I say, Blip, you will not need to see anything from that little cell awaiting you. Trust me."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Detective Renee Montoya was conferring with other officers by one of the patrol cars when she heard a loud thud not too far away followed by gasps and horrorified expletives from fellow officers. She ran quickly to the source of the commotion and asked one of the officers what had occurred. A female African American officer, with tears about to pour from her eyes motioned to the patrol car where Montoya saw the remains of a gray tabby cat splattered on the windshield.

"It came from up there…" The officer added, signaling to the top floors. Another loud noise surprised the detective as a Christmas tree hit the ground a few yards away from her, the ornaments crashing loudly against the floor.

"What the heck?" Montoya said looking at the mess made by the glass and artificial tree on the ground.

"Montoya, look…" Another officer said as he motioned to the penthouse. From over the rail, a man dressed up in a Santa Claus costume hung from the neck. The man jerked violently for a few seconds before dangling lifelessly under his own weight.

"My God…" Montoya said as she saw a man waving at her from the penthouse terrace. She immediately recognized the white ghastly face and even from down here she could see the large smile on the man's face.

"Hey, don't mind me," the man yelled as he busted into laughter. "I'm just putting up the Christmas decorations."

The man's laughter quickly became wild and uncontrollable sending chills down the policemen's spines. He quickly disappeared into the penthouse as his hysterical laughter echoed in the night. Renee walked over to the nearest patrol car and grabbed the radio unit.

"All units, we have a Clown sighting in a penthouse on the north end of building D, I repeat…Joker seen on top of building D. I want air units on top of that penthouse NOW!"


	46. Crimsom Holiday

**Author's note:**_ Hi friends. Another chapter for your entertainment follows. Hope you like it. The end is near, and nobody really knows how far Joker will go to get his madness back (well, I do...but that is obvious, no? smiles Anyways, this chapter was written with a lot of love for you all. As always, reviews are more than welcomed. Thanks to you all for the support that you always have showed me and my stories. You're very special for me. Now, just enjoy the chappie._

_DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and all related characters belong to DC COMICS_

_DISCLAIMER 2: Some scenes include MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Please be adviced._

_BETA: It is done by a wonderful Beta THE GREAT KICHI. Thank you girl for the great job._

**Chapter 46: Crimson Holiday**

Joker finished tying the Christmas lights tightly around the woman and her two children. All three now were tightly bundled together in what promised to be a very enlightening experience. Joker laughed at his own genius as he connected the lights to a nearby socket. The lights shone brightly as they started to flicker randomly on and off in a parade of red, blues, greens and whites. The Jester smiled complacently as he looked at the trio, and then looked at the love seat up front where an elderly couple sat embracing each other in terror at the madman's creation.

"Well, well. Don't they look all nice and pretty for Christmas? You really light up my day." The Joker said as he laughed softly. "And after I'm done with you all, my Christmas wish will be for the world to burn to hell. That will lighten up my life…"

"Mr. Joker, please… why are you doing this to us?" The elderly woman sitting beside her husband asked with tears running down her cheeks.

"Because I can…and I'm inspired. You see, I always had this thing for decorating. My favorite motives are charred bodies and splattered brains on walls. What about yours? Wearing Christmas colors like that without looking like me is an accomplishment in itself." The Jester said giggling softly and referring to the nicely matched red blouse with tiny white snowmen that the lady wore over a dark green velvety skirt. Around the woman's neck was a white scarf knotted on the front and over her nose a very small red-framed pair of glasses. "You look like you have a real talent for decoration and fashion." The Jester cackled.

"Joker please let my children go…" The woman wrapped in the dancing lights pleaded. "I beg you…"

"No, no, no. This is the season for children. Children in the stores, children at the skating ring, children with Santa, children in the morgue. Definitely the season for children." Joker scratched his green mane. "Why would I want them to go? I want them all to be here, while I kill you all before Christmas Eve. That way they can see the real beauty and nonsense of the season at the same time they see your blood stain the floor. The ultimate experience of the Christmas spirit if you ask me. I saw my mother's blood in the floor one Christmas…and I never forgot that day."

"There's no beauty in murder." The old man protested. He looked so plain compared to his wife, the Jester thought. That white shirt with thin blue lines and the navy blue Dockers were totally out of season. And those thick glasses distorting the man's eyes were disgusting. Did the man ever heard of Lasik surgery? Joker walked over to the couple on the brown love seat, and they held each other even tighter now that the mad clown approached them.

"Excuse me…what do you mean there is no beauty in murder? For your information, murder is an art that I have taken great effort to perfect. Nobody kills like me. Murder…" Joker's smile turned into a somber sneer. "…used to make me happy. I remember that…"

The Jester's eyes looked straight at the old couple, but at the same time seemed lost in the distance of old memories.

"And you know why it made me happy?" He asked his hostages while he inspected a bundle of explosives he had set where the Christmas tree once had been. "Because every time someone died because of me, it was the proof of how useless life really is. See? Life is a great joke. You have all these plans. Get married, take your children through college, or maybe organize a one week get-away with your loved ones. Maybe even take the trash out after dinner is part of your plan. All one mother fucking plan after the other. But you are all so sure of your happiness, aren't you? That's because you take everything for granted. Then here I come and show you that dreaming all those stupid dreams is a waste of time. Life is not a dream, people, but a nightmare. I show you that life is just a mixture of what could have been and what never will be and that you have absolutely no control over what happens to you."

"Simply put, life is a psychosis in which you have the illusion of control. But you still don't get the joke, do you? You keep dreaming…hoping. Just like you're hoping now that Batman is gonna show up to save you, or maybe the Commissioner will storm through the door with the cavalry. And it's up to me to take all that away. Batman is gonna be too weak to even save himself, and the Commissioner is in for an explosive surprise. It is when I take your hope away that, well, there is nothing to hold onto. It is time for you to die. Then you finally get the joke and finish your day laughing at your own misery. And now that you've lost everything, why don't lose your mind as well…?"

"That is the most demented thing I have ever heard anybody say." The old woman said.

"Are you insinuating I'm out of my mind?" Joker retorted angrily, pulling his gun from his jacket and waving it wildly in front of him. The woman cowered by her husband and burst into tears. "Well, let me correct that statement for you. I WAS insane. That is the whole problem I have. WAS is different from AM and right now…I AM sane. If I was insane this would be a lot easier. I would not feel this…weight in my chest. Instead I have all this thoughts, these regrets. Things that could be but I know they never will be. History of my life, because life never got me what I wanted. That is why this hurts too much. I…I had dreams once, just like you, you know? I remember wishing for a little bit of joy in my sea of sorrow. I wanted to be like everybody else, but I wasn't. And why me and not you, anyways…?"

"I don't understand…" the terrified mother protested.

"Why was it me who had to have his dreams shattered while you can have a life? My life. Why are you happy when I have this…fire inside me that hurts like hell? Why did I have to lose everything I ever cared for my entire life, while you…have this? A family. Such an elusive concept. What makes you any different from me?" Joker responded in a dark menacing tone. "You're not better than me, you know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but my children don't deserve to be punished for how you feel."

"WRONG!! Everybody is responsible for my pain and everybody should pay. You, your husband, your children, your grandparents, your plants, your cat, your local Dodge dealer. Why do I have to feel this way? You tell me…"

"You probably can't take all the evil you've brought with you…" The old man protested. Joker growled and lunged at the man and put his gun against his chin.

"Evil…you think I'm evil, just like everybody else in this city, don't you? You're not being fair, gramps." The Jester pushed the gun deeper against the man's throat and beads of sweat started to flow down freely from his forehead. The old man started to hyperventilate and his face lost all color. "I didn't want to be like this. I wanted a father that loved me, a mother that was caring, I wanted to marry and have children…a family, but YOU made me into this. You turned me into this evil thing you dislike and scares the shit out of you. You are the evil one in this story, not me- I'm just a victim."

"How can we be responsible of who you are…" The elderly woman protested holding tight to her husband. The man leaned back limply against the backrest. "…when we don't even know you?"

"I had a father who deserved to die…none of you ever moved a finger to stop him from hurting his son or his wife. No one. I had to take matters into my own hands and make him stop. And even after I saved her life…the bitch hated me for it. I just wanted some peace; was that too much to ask? I had to stop everybody from hurting me, because nobody cared to even lend a hand and help me through."

"We never met your parents…

"That's irrelevant for the discussion, grandma. If you were there or not is not important. What is important is that if it doesn't affect you, there is no need to fix it and you will do nothing to fix it. You might not have done it to me, but you do it to everybody else every day. You selfish, arrogant, insensible people. It is because of people like you that I am the way I am. It is because of you that I had to make that son of a bitch stop hurting my mother and me. Because no one else dared get their hands dirty. So I burned the bastard alive to a crunchy crisp. She couldn't understand why I had done something like that, and then she tried to kill me…Would you believe that? I did it because I loved her…I killed him for her and what did I get? I should have left the bastard kill her, she'd deserve it. And that was just the beginning…"

"But you know what? I regret what I did with each one of them. Because later someone told me that I can do better and I believed her. She had so many plans, so many hopes, and all for what? She believed in me and I really wanted to be better for her, because she deserved it… but every time I tried, I failed, because I'm just me. What you see is what you get. I can't be anything more than what I am. And what I am is not pretty, we all know that. After trying so hard…I lost her too. Forever. All because I'm a fool. The future is as dark as the past we all come from. So I decided to give it all up, including my sanity and just live the present one minute at a time."

"I hate you for not putting a stop to my pain, and I hate myself for not controlling this fire within myself and trying to be better…but it's just that I feel this tremendous joy when I allowed them all see the worthlessness of this existence. I can't live like this. I can't handle these extreme feelings. They isolate me; detach me from the real world. That is why I had to make an imaginary one here in my head. One that will give me some peace. I want my little own imaginary world back…" Joker pulled back and stomped angrily on the floor, turned around and after letting an angry growl, shot the aquarium in the corner. One hundred gallons of water came splashing down to the floor and fish hit the ground and started to jerk frantically in search of water.

"Look at them, gasping. And all because I can't control this temper, but there is something in their agony that soothes me…just like seeing my father's skin melt away from his bones lightened my heart that day. I am addicted to pain…your pain."

"I feel sorry for you, carrying all that anger within…" The old grandmother said with tears welling in her eyes as she petted her husband tenderly.

"Please don't feel sorry…don't make killing you any more difficult than it already is. If I start getting attached to you…I will never be able to finish this…"

"Maybe…maybe it's time for you to…to attach to something else than anger." The elder man let out between gasps. He kept his eyes closed and breathed in short shallow breaths while his skin completely lacked any color.

"Told you there is nothing else to hold on to…life is hopeless, senseless. I just need to forget where this anger comes from, forget the past, forget the plans. I don't want a plan…I don't need one. I just want to feel free, for once, and go with the flow. Your world asphyxiates me. Makes me hurt. I don't want to hurt anymore and only when I stop hurting, will I be able to find the strength to go on from the chaos that rules life. Because you realize that entropy is the only real force that moves this world, right? But I don't know who to forget…so I'm stuck here, in this limbo, in pain…"

"Is that why you want to kill us? Because you think we cause your pain?"

"What makes you think this is about you? This is me against the whole world. You're just a pawn in this game. A number in my larger than life Sudoku game. This time, I will destroy EVERYTHING that causes me pain, starting with this city. Then I will move on to that annoying talking gecko from TV…"

The Jester started to laugh deeply in an almost guttural laughter that got to the deepest crevices of the bone and made you shiver. It was a dark, heavy laughter, like the one mad scientists used when they were about to release their monstrosity into the world. What monster was about to be unleashed from the soul of this man? Then the laughter lightened up, and took a more cheerful, playful tone. The transmutation of tone was the indication of the conflict within the Joker. Dark and light. Sadness and Joy. Evil and whatever was left of good in there, all clashing inside producing a tornado of contradictions.

Joker crossed his arms over his chest. "But you know what is going to be the hardest? Trying to explain who is on first base to a cockroach…How do you know when a cockroach smiles, anyway?" The Jester laughed again, but this time it was a hysterical laughter as if he had lost all control over his senses.

"Stop…you're scaring the children…" The mother pleaded holding tightly to her children who had started to cry.

"Stop, I'm scaring your children? But why should I stop when I'm having the time of my life. THIS IS LIFE, KIDS!! It's not pretty, but it's worth laughing at, and more importantly it's worth dying for a good laugh. Didn't you hear what Jack said…about life being meaningless? Life is really like a roller coaster joyride…so hold on to your harnesses, because I just blew away the rest of the track so let's see what happens now. Chaos is the only constant in this world. Chaos rules it all…" There was that maniacal laughter again. "Do you have any life insurance? Hope so, because life is going to make a turn for the worse."

"Fred, are you listening to me?" The old lady spoke to her husband softly by the ear. The old man sat very quietly on the sofa, his head resting against the cushion and his mouth slightly open as he breathed really fast. "Fred?"

"Awww, did Freddy go to sleep?" Joker grumbled as he pushed the man's head with the barrel of his gun. "Wakey, wakey Mr. Flinstone. Batman's not here so the show has not begun. Don't be rude and wake up."

The old lady angrily pushed the gun away from her husband. "Would you stop that? He's not feeling well. He has a weak heart and he is not used to these type of emotions."

"Oh, if that's the case and he can't take it maybe he should go…now." Joker said putting his .38 against the man's temple. "Say bye bye, Freddy…say hello to my dad if you see him."

"NO! PLEASE!" The mother with her children pleaded, while the old lady turned to him with blue pleading eyes full of tears. She just pressed herself to her husband and sobbed silently."DAD!!"

Joker held the gun tightly in his hand and grabbed firmly the trigger. This man was going to die anyways, why not give it a little push to the other side of the bridge. Maybe he would stumble and fall on the other side. That would be funny, but then, why does this woman lean closer to her husband when she should be putting distance to save her life?

From where he was standing he could kill them both with one single bullet. She just sat there, looking at him with hatred in her eyes, and his hand froze around his gun. He couldn't get himself to pull the trigger all the way. This was not funny, there was no punch line. Why couldn't he control this urge to kill? It was just senseless… and why did she look at him like that? She looked just like she had looked at him so long ago. Those blue eyes that could melt mountains of ice. The eyes that told him more than once there was something good in him and he just needed to try harder to find it. If there was…where was it?

"Life is just a nightmare, and I want to wake up…" Joker said to himself softly. "She…she wouldn't want me to do this."

_But she's dead…so what difference does it make? _

"She would say that this is wrong. She always believed I could do better." Joker said again to the air. "But if it's wrong why it does give me joy?"

_Because you are who you are, and this is what you are. A psychotic killer who enjoys people's suffering. I'm the joy you feel when you pull that trigger and you want me back. Because without me, you cannot live in this world. Don't think, that is a waste of time. Just feel, feel the pain of this woman when you kill her husband. That is one less pain you're gonna feel. Isn't this what you want? This is you. Now go on…let go… _

"Jeannie…" The Jester said that name like it was the last words of a moribund.

"_Dead…"_

"She said I could do better than this…"

"_She lied, now pull the trigger…"_

Could she really have lied to him? Promises that she knew she wouldn't fulfill. Did she know he would never be more than Crazy Jack and just took him on a wild goose chase to see him suffer for his failure? He couldn't forget the hazy blue eyes framed by the reddish blonde hair. He could almost see her again, touch her. But he knew it was not real, he couldn't help feeling remorse for doing everything she ever hated him doing. But he couldn't stop this fire; it was always there in the back of his head. Jeannie held the monster within, but at what cost? He felt his soul in fire like the pits of hell and that caused him pain. He wanted to forget the burning, and he could only do that if he forgot her for good. Forget who he was, and just live his life he had been handed, as the Harlequin of Hate. The Clown Prince felt no pain, no remorse, no fire; just an intense sense of joy for the suffering of his fellow man. Chaos reigning supreme in a world that adored order. What a joke the world was...

"I…I'm sorry, Jeannie." He said with his voice soft and filled with sorrow as he noticed the old woman staring at him sadly. Tears had welled in her eyes, but not for him, he knew that. The tears were for what he was about to do. He went on. "Did you know I was once married to a beautiful princess for another world? I tried to join her world, but destiny had other plans and I made a fool of myself. Because there is no reason to plan when chaos rules your life. Chance had chosen her. Chaos chose me. And there was nothing I could do, because I have no control over anything. You wanna know what happened?"

The old lady just looked at him strangely. He looked at the woman tied with the Christmas lights.

"I'm going to tell you anyways." Joker said with a frown as he started to huff. "I lost her. Forever. The man you call hero, the rat on steroids… He killed her. He killed her by doing what you did to me. Nothing. He let her go because he never cared. He was there and he didn't stop her from dying. The same way he is not going to stop any of you from dying tonight."

Joker frowned. "Your dreams…are smoke."

Joker turned around and starting firing at the pictures nicely arranged above the fireplace. They were all pictures that represented the happiest moments in the life of a family. The picture of the family gathered at the grandfather's birthday, the kindergarten graduation of the youngest boy, the little daughter happily dancing in her ballet outfit, and the biggest catch during the fishing trip of a father and his son. One by one the frames shattered as the Joker hit them dead on- like in a shooting gallery, until he ran out of bullets. He then stopped to look at his handiwork. A family scared stiff of him, a man that looked more as if he wanted to die right there in this living room and a mess of shattered glass, metal and plastic by the fireplace.

"Fred please, talk to me…" The old woman pleaded to her husband.

"Let him die, grandma. Let him savor his last moments…he'll see the joke at any time now." Joker responded releasing the clip from his gun and replacing it with a fresh one.

"How can you be so cold? Didn't you say you were in love once? Then somewhere in there has to be a hint of humanity hidden under all this cruelty…"

"That was a long time ago…Life is cruel. Deal with it."

"Life is not cruel!" The old woman retorted angrily. "And killing people is not funny! My husband is dying and I don't see the joke in that."

"I do. See? We don't control anything. Not even who lives or dies…we just watch the world burn down and enjoy the view…"

"I don't want to see the world burn. I want my husband to live. I want you to leave us alone."

Joker sighed and aimed his gun at the woman's head. "You still have hope. You're very stubborn woman for your age, you know? Maybe I should kill you now."

"You already killed my son. Wasn't that enough for you?"

"That's different. Your son became part of the decoration, and it wouldn't have ended that way if he wouldn't have started the name calling…" Joker replied angrily waving the gun in front of him. "He brought that all by himself."

"He was protecting his family." The elderly woman spat back furiously.

"And did it change anything? He's dead and I'm gonna kill you all anyways…"

"You are a monster…"

"No, I'm the only man with some common sense left in this world… The Batman is the real monster and you are all crazy." Joker sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But you will never understand that because you are too senile to realize how worthless your lives are. If you want to try saving him, go ahead. Live that illusion as long as you want. He's gonna be dead before midnight anyways."

"Can I have my purse?" The lady requested. Joker looked at her strangely. "Right there, beside you. It has his medicine inside."

He looked down and located the purse that he grabbed and tossed at the woman. She fumbled the contents of the purse and found a pill vial. She extracted a pill from the vial and placed it underneath the tongue of the dying man. Suddenly the man seemed to be able to breathe a little easier and some color started to return to him, but he remained seated unresponsively on the sofa. The woman started to talk softly to the man while she caressed his hands tenderly as she repeated to him that everything was going to be OK. The man mumbled under his breath in what seemed like an intimate conversation with his wife. Joker walked to the grand piano in the living room and sat down at the keys.

"Why are you lying to him?" Joker asked. "This is not going to end well and you know it. I'm going to kill you all, then kill the Bat, take over this city, and watch from Gotham Square as the world dissolves into a glowing mushroom cloud. I'll need a drink for that…do you have any chardonnay?"

The woman ignored him to pay attention to her sick husband and he hated to be ignored. Maybe he should have pulled the trigger after all. The Jester looked nervously around him and started to play some random keys on the piano. The notes slowly transformed into a soft melodic rhythm. Music had always soothed him...

"Music…" He said as he put his gun over the piano and started to play Pretty Paper softly. "We need music. What's Christmas without Christmas carols, no? Something we can all sing. Let me see…" He started to play Jingle Bells "Come on, you know this one…Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg…."

Nobody joined him in the caroling, which brought an angry frown from the Clown. He suddenly stopped playing and stared at the family resentfully. Were these people crazy? It was Christmas. It was time to sing happy tunes... "If you people don't join in, then I'm gonna have to kill you, because you are boring as hell. Capice?" The Clown Prince started to play again, this time something slower, Silent Night. They all joined him between tears and sobs.

Outside on the terrace, there was a loud noise like and engine. It was like a helicopter engine, very close to the door. Then there was a big explosion and a cloud of green smoke was seen from the terrace. Joker stopped playing the piano and grabbed his gun. Two men came stumbling from the trees surrounding the terrace and slammed against the glass. A third one wobbled into the middle of the terrace as he fell onto the floor in what looked like convulsions. They were all covered in armor and wore protective gear, including helmets, bore very large smiles and were laughing too much for their own good. The two men tried to open the glass door but only slid down to kneel lifelessly against the glass. The Jester put the gun back on the piano and started to play once more, this time playing the Noel…

"Silly little pigs," he said humming the tune. The family looked in horror at the dead officers against the glass. "Christmas is the season to be joyful, so laugh yourselves to death."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman had arrived at the penthouse level when he heard the explosion. Joker had prepared a loud reception for him and somebody else had joined the celebration. The Jester's death toll kept growing. He finally left the shaft through the forced open door of the elevator. His instincts have been rewarded because he was now extremely close to the Clown. He opened a channel in his communicator.

"Oracle…do you know what was that explosion?"

"I'm having conflicting information but it seems the feds tried to invade the terrace to ambush the Joker. They are reporting a failure, three snipers are dead. There was some gunfire reported earlier, that's why they decided to act."

"Go figures. This Clown is not out of resources and he is not afraid to use them. Contact Montoya, she will understand. Tell her to not try anything like this again, or the death toll could be very high and we need Joker and Garibaldi alive."

"I'll try to contact her, but I'm not so sure she is really in charge. The feds want that Clown badly."

"Another reason they need to leave him to me." Batman approached the door to the apartment where a note with his name on it hung from a knife embedded on the wood. "Listen to this…

_Dear Bats, this entrance is out of service, the bell has been rewired for some added fun. Please, reserve for the police. If you still have a breath left in you meet me at the terrace and we can play some games…sincerely J_. The door must be connected to explosives, so advise the police. He is waiting for me up there in the penthouse.

"Bruce, Joker is out of control. He might have set explosives on the entire penthouse for all we know. Facing him now is suicide."

"I have to risk it, Oracle. Somebody has to make Joker stop. He has to call back the missiles or a lot of people are going to die."

Oracle remained silent over the communicator. Batman was right. Joker had gone too far, but she also knew that there was something really wrong here. Dick's sudden illness and the Batman's fatigue were just part of a larger game the clown was playing. She didn't know how, but she knew that the Knight was not in his best shape to face his arch nemesis. This could be the last battle for both of them. "Bruce, the League…"

"There is no time, Barb," he said walking toward a nearby window. He held himself against the wall and kicked the window open. Wrapping his gauntlet in his cape, he cleared the window frame of any loose piece of glass. "The League has to be on alert in case I can't have Joker call off the missile launch. Those nuclear missiles can't land on their targets. Tell the police of the explosives in the penthouse, they should try avoiding raiding the building at all cost. Remember the explosion at the mall. Joker doesn't care how many people die tonight. I need to take care of Joker."

"Good luck…"

He stepped out of the building and onto the thin ledge a few feet below. The Knight slid precariously along the façade and onto the northern side of the building. Joker was waiting for him and he knew it, but he planned on not letting his guard down. He reached the northern corner of the building. From ground level he could hear the police officers calling to him and encouraging him to continue. He stopped momentarily on the ledge and looked down to the team of cops in their protective gear.

A wave of vertigo took over him forcing him against the building wall. He could feel cold sweat running down his temples and down his spine underneath the armor. He had never felt like this, this was more than just fatigue, and the fact that Dick was now very ill in the hospital confirmed that there was more to this sudden weakness than just the lack of sleep. Something was terribly wrong and he didn't know what it was, but he didn't have time to think of that. He had to gather all his strength and focus on taking down the Clown in the penthouse.

The cape flapped against the wind behind him, and its weight made it very difficult to keep his equilibrium in the narrow ledge. Batman unclasped his cape and let it go in the wind soaring like a ghost down to the ground. He will have to do without it. He checked his utility belt and felt for his grapple. Aiming at the corner of the building he fired and the large hook embedded itself solidly on the masonry. Batman tried the tension on the cable and after confirming that it was nicely anchored on the building he swung from the ledge to the corner and started to climb up towards the terrace. Pulling himself against gravity was painful, his muscles were trying to resist the tension of the stretch.

He climbed slowly but steadily until he reached the rail on the top floor. He pulled himself up with great effort and looked around. Joker was nowhere to be found. He jumped over the rail and landed on the floor behind a group of bushes. He tried to catch his breath but trying to force air into his lungs had started to become a feat by itself, and the heavy armored uniform did not help in his efforts. For the first time felt this was a battle he was about to lose, but even if the odds were against him, he had to try...


	47. Reconstructing a Clown

_**Author's note**: Hello everybody. Like always, thanks for your support for JESTER. As a writer that means a lot to me. Here is another chapter for your enjoyment. Hope you all like it as much as I liked writing it. It's being a fun trip, and the pot is full of new, fresh ideas. Just to let you know that more stories are on the making, and MAYBE that other story you guys have supported since it's inception, PLAYMATE, will make a come back sooner than expected. Yes, new ideas are brewing in this crazy head of mine and they can't wait to come out (BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Hey, is Halloween)__. In the meantime, enjoy this little chapter as all the action of this story spirals down to an explosive end. Please remember that reviews are always welcome. I LOVE hearing from you all._

_Happy Halloween!_

_DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and related characters are owned by DC COMICS._

_DISCLAIMER 2: There might be some instance of MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. You have been adviced._

_Last but not least...THANKS TO KICHI FOR DOING ANOTHER WONDERFUL BETA SERVICE TO THIS STORY... OWE YOU ANOTHER ONE GIRL!_

**CHAPTER 47: Reconstructing a Clown**

The terrace was more like a small forest. There were rows of large and small pots that contained small trees and shrubs. Nearby he could hear running water from a fountain or a small pond. On the far left, two taller evergreen trees stood majestically along with other vegetation. The perimeter of the terrace was lined with lit oil torches and most of them now extinguished, but the general appearance of this hidden garden was one peaceful atmosphere. It was difficult to believe that among this beautiful landscape, lurked a monster obsessed with seeing the world burn for his own amusement.

Batman felt exhausted, as if he had been running a marathon for months without a single break. A body could only take so much. He then saw the dead SWAT officer on the floor in the middle of the terrace and the two other against the glass doors. It was late afternoon and the night was not going to take too long before it enveloped the entire city, limiting visibility. As if it couldn't get any worse, the winter cold didn't help the situation either. He didn't recall a night as cold as this one in a long time. Even the insulation in his armor couldn't protect him against the freezing cold and he could feel the icy wind slashing at him through the opened bottom of his mask. This was not going to be easy.

Batman crawled with great effort to hide behind a tree. A few feet away he saw a Joker venom sphere and slowly extended to get it. He delicately opened the top and dripped a few drops from his neutralizing formula. The green liquid inside turned blue. Another success. The Detective wondered how many more explosives littered the terrace. The SWAT team had found some of them first. It was obvious from the burnt uniforms and the large smiles on their faces, but where were the other ones? Joker knew how to make the most of his explosive arsenal, but he also knew how to turn the most innocuous object in the most deadly weapon. Anything in the terrace could be deadly, even the innocent ferns around him...

He looked around and didn't see any more of the Joker gas bombs within range. He turned the binoculars on his mask and zoomed inside the penthouse. He could see a woman and two children tied up with flashing Christmas lights, and an older couple sitting by the fireplace facing the tied woman. The older man looked pale and sick. The rest of the family seemed to be singing, but even from his hiding place, Batman could see the tears running down their faces. They were not happy. He finally located his target. At the grand piano, Joker was playing something…he could hardly hear it through the glass, but it sounded like…Christmas Carols.

"Oracle…" Batman whispered into his communicator. "Joker has a family of five as hostages. It doesn't look good...there are two children involved and an elderly man who looks very sick. I found the three dead SWAT officers and there's Joker venom scattered all over the garden. I'm sure he also has more explosives strategically placed. Tell Montoya to keep the Feds away. This penthouse is a deathtrap."

"I'll do my best, but that is not going to be easy. You in the meantime…take care."

Batman crawled a few more feet towards the glass doors. He needed to have a closer look at the conditions of the kidnaping. To his horror, he saw some homemade explosives by the door and connected to the grill's propane tank. That would make quite an explosion and would probably blow part of the penthouse down onto the street. He then saw another two small Joker spheres among the bushes. He diligently neutralized the first one, and when he took the second one, he looked into the Joker's smiley face only to discover a small camera looking back at him. The music inside the penthouse stopped and he saw Joker get up from behind the piano.

"Stupid." Batman said to himself putting the sphere back where he had found it. "He was waiting for me to make a mistake like this."

"What is it, Bruce?" Oracle inquired.

"Joker knows I'm here now…"

"Damn…that's not good."

The Jester, dressed in a green vest over a black shirt and dark purple pants, opened the glass door only to shiver from the cold and go back in. He grabbed a thick red velvety jacket with white fluffy cuffs and put his green gloves on before he stepped out again. From high above, a police helicopter hovered close to the penthouse's roof. Joker's green curls danced at the mercy of the large rotor wind from the chopper. The Jester pulled out a cell phone.

"Oh, hello. Is that you Montoya?" The Jester yelled at the phone, fighting against the noise from the helicopter above. "Yes…Joker here. I would greatly appreciate it if you removed that noisy chopper from over my head, its messing up my hair do…Yeah. If you don't take it away, I'm going to blow up the entire penthouse, and you know how good I am blowing things up. I also still have five more decorations I can put up beside the Old Saint Nick. Two of them have not reached puberty yet.I need some privacy with the rodent. Yeah. Thanks sweetie."

The chopper above suddenly turned around and slowly left the penthouse leaving the skies deadly quiet. Joker put the cell phone in the pocket of his jacket and wrapped his arms around himself as he exhaled a thick cloud of vapor with each breath. He looked like an angry bull, waiting for his toreador.

"Hey Bats, you can come out of hiding now. I know you're here, so no use on letting the tip of your ears freeze."

"You have been waiting for me all this time?" Batman inquired walking into plain view from between the bushes of the artificial garden.

"Kinda," Joker said playfully ashe looked at his large pocket watch. "I was really hoping you would have been dead twenty four hours ago, but I see you are harder to kill than dollar weed." He walked over to one of the SWAT team against the glass and kicked him forcefully on the helmet. The officer slid onto the floor landing on his side. "They don't make police officers like they used to, have you noticed?"

"Let them go, Joker. You don't need them." Batman said, motioning to the terrified family inside the penthouse.

"Who, them?" The Jester asked innocently pointing at the cop on the floor. "These cops are already dead in case you didn't notice."

"I'm talking about the family you are holding hostage."

"Oh…them. I disagree, sweetheart. Everybody needs a family to celebrate Christmas. Even me. It gets kind of lonely, you know?Nobody to care for this sad clown. But you know about loneliness. All your friends are dying one by one."

Batman swallowed and held his anger in check. "These people are not your family."

"No, they are not. You killed my family if I recall correctly." The Jester snapped acidly while rubbing his chin with a gloved hand. His words were cold and unemotional. "Yes, that is the way I remember it. She died while you were on patrol…you killed her. You let her die."

"No, Jack…I didn't kill her. I went through the old records. I was there after the explosion on the fifth floor to investigate what happened because I thought it had to do with Boss Doyle. I didn't kill anybody that night, and if there had been any way in which I could save your wife, I would have saved her. But when I arrived it was already too late."

"I don't believe you. With you it's never too late." Joker retorted angrily as he stepped farther from the door and deeper into the terrace. "You, like those people inside the penthouse, believe that if it doesn't affect you directly you shouldn't move a finger for you fellow men. You didn't do anything because you didn't want to."

"Stop being so stubborn, Jack. You have to believe me when I tell you I didn't do it. Now please let them go and surrender. One of them is very sick, and needs medical help."

Joker looked at the family and just smiled. All of them started to cry. "No. I like this family. I think I'm gonna keep them for some time and surrendering is definitely not on my checklist of New Year's resolutions. Their health should be the least of your concerns right now. Believe me."

"Don't force me to hurt you, Jack. I really want to help you sift through your pain. I want you to stop hurting this bad because it only brings more misery to you and whoever is around you. Stop all this violence. I was hurting once…I know how it feels."

"How cute. Welcome to another episode of Dr. Bats. Today's topic, deep pain in Clowns. Thanks for caring, pal, but if you really want to help, just drop dead near the closest bush. When you're dead, everything is going to start getting better."

"Why do you want this to end in violence, Jack?" Batman said shifting the weight of his body to increase his momentum for the attack. "Haven't you had enough of that in your life already? This is so useless."

"You finally get the idea. What is useless is a life without meaning. And you took the only thing that had any meaning in my life. The only think that now gives meaning to my life is Joker and he's hungry for some old fashioned chaos."

"I said I didn't kill your family."

"Whatever. But it seems to me you have lost all that has had any meaning for you as well…the Bird Boy, the Feline fatale, Gordon, and Dumbwing is not here which means that he must be en route to the morgue. You're very close to losing it, aren't you? Your anger is about to consume you, I can hear it rumbling inside the spandex. Just like me. Now, isn't that funny? You've always being as angry as me and now you are going to be as crazy as me."

Batman lunged with all his strength and all the speed he was capable towards the Jester, only to have the Joker spin around and miss him in an acrobatic pass that had as much finesse as the elegant pass of the toreador at the bullfights.

"Ole Toro."Joker said gravely as Batman recovered from his attack and turned around to face him again. The Knight felt something warm running down his cheeks. He ran his gloves down his face and noticed fresh blood on his gauntlet. Joker smiled sinisterly and while he still stood with his arms crossed over his chest he showed off two sharp-edged Joker cards from his hands, blood still fresh on the edge of the one in his right hand.

Joker giggled maliciously. "Another pass my beautiful beast and I'm going to carve and even deeper smile in that angry face of yours. You never smiled for me before and being Christmas, I decided to change that. Everybody should smile in Christmas. Then we're going to be like twins. Same anger and same smile." The Jester smiled and threw the cards away where they embedded in the masonry. "But I don't need these to get you down."

Batman growled and lunged for a second time missing the Jester's jacket by a few inches. Joker connected a jab to the lower mandible that made the Detective stumble backwards. The Clown continued forward, swinging punches that the Knight was having trouble avoiding. His reflexes were faltering him, and the Jester's attack was as fast as lighting. Joker connected again on the Batman's face and the Detective, losing his equilibrium, fell on his back. While falling, Batman grabbed the Jester's jacket only to have the Clown maneuver to loosen his grip on his opponent and slide out of the jacket. The Jester spun around leaving the jacket hanging from the Detective's hand, and kicke the Knight squarely in the chest. Batman lost his balance and fell on his back. Joker started to laugh as he started circling the fallen hero like a vulture circling the dying prey.

"Like the new improved me? You used to defeat me with one hand tied to your back, what's wrong, Bats? Lost your edge?" The Clown Prince started to laugh crazily. "Am I too much Clown for you…or maybe too much Jack?"

"Joker…please." Batman said as he painfully knelt on the floor.

"Ohhhh, so now I'm Joker. Nice to know, 'cause for a moment I thought I was Charley Brown."

"Joker please. Stop the nuclear missiles. There is no reason to destroy the whole world just because you're angry. There are other ways of handling this. Let me help you."

"Nice offer, Bats, but I would like to see the world burn down into a beautiful state of chaos. I want to see buildings falling down and people get burnt to a crisp. I am a master of chaos…and that will be my legacy to the world. Then they will know they shouldn't have ignored me when I make a threat and for once they will know how it feels inside me. Because I already have told you I wanted to tumble down everything you believe in. Law and order are illusions. Chaos is the real force that moves the world. Entropy is the final state after all ends. Doesn't that give you a hint?"

"Chaos is going to take you down as well, Joker. You're not immune to this."

"Oh, I know. And that is what I'm counting on. I tried everything else to forget what I was, what I have done. I can't live like this any longer, and dying can be a liberating experience. Take it from me. I already died once. When the chaos consumes me I will finally be free." Joker said extending his arms triumphantly beside him.

"Jack…"

"Forget about that loser and tell me Bats, is Dumbwing dead or is he still flapping in and out of consciousness. That's one of the final stages, and then you know the end is near."

Batman looked at the smiling Jester in front of him. How in hell did this Clown know that Dick was unconscious? The detective rolled over and tried to get up, but his stamina was gone, and the world was swirling nauseatingly in front of him.

"Final…stages…of what?" Batman tried to stand up only to fall on his knees.

"So you mean to tell me that you, the great detective, have not figured out what I did to you and your sidekick at the warehouse?" Joker asked with a large smile in his face. He was really enjoying this little victory over his enemy, the second one in a row.

"You took me by surprise then, Joker."

"Oh yes I did. You remember that dust cloud at the end of our waltz? You see, it was not my version of a White Christmas and it was more than just a dusty warehouse. It was a modified version of my Joker venom, the same one I used to kill the nurse at the asylum. Joker laughed loudly. "The venom is modified to alter your metabolism, make you weaker, more vulnerable. I am reducing you to nothing, slowly. An average man, an average fighter…an average rodent. One even a Clown like me can take out. Unfortunately this is taking longer than I thought it would, but heck, you don't hear me complaining. I prefer to have front row seat to see you die."

"You were in the warehouse too."

"So? You would think that after all these years I would have developed immunity to my own toxin by now, no? But enough about me and back to your gothic finch…if he is unconscious it's just a matter of time before he stops breathing. And you'll join him soon in there. Isn't that just fun? I'm getting good at this killing sidekicks thing." Joker picked up his jacket from the floor and put it back on. "And give me that back, because my ass is freezing."

"Why…why this hatred against me…against the world?" Batman said panting heavily on the floor.

"I don't know. I've always felt like this, until Joker gave me a reason to laugh at our miseries. And I want that back. Because feeling like this…hurts. Don't you think I want to stop feeling this…anger? It hurts. This fire is out of control, even I know that. This is not fun. I don't want to feel anything, just laugh and have some cookies with milk."

"Then stop…"

"I can't…don't you see? I really want to see the world crumble around me. All of it, falling down in pieces .The destruction around me is proportional to the turmoil inside me…and I am not even started yet. One of those pieces has to be funny and then I will get the Joke again and the pain will stop. Joker will find me in this chaos. He loves chaos; he's addicted to it."

"Do you realize that you will lose all your audience if you kill everybody? Who is Joker going to perform to when everybody's gone…? You want Joker back, but Joker needs the world as a stage. Joker is nothing without his audience and you are going to kill them all. If you kill us all, there is no reason for Joker to come back."

"What the hell...?"

"You have not thought ouf that, Jack? Joker is addicted to be the center of attention, to have an audience gasping in terror at his murderous performances. You let those misiles destroy everything, there will be nothing left for Joker to return to. Who is is going to perform to"?

The Jester mused on what the Knight had just said. The audience. When everything was gone, when his anger had burned the entire world after he let it burn free. When there was no one else there to soothe his pain. What was he going to do?

"I…I don't know. Perform for the cockroaches?" The Jester responded with a soft smile.

"If everybody dies, you and Joker lose, Jack. Is that what you want?"

"I just want some peace…some quiet. I want to stop feeling like this." Joker shook his head violently. "NO! what you want is to have everybody to pay for your pain and when everybody has paid its share what am I gonna be left with? I don't like crumbs. The rodent is right. I want my body back, Jack!"

"Destroying the world is not going to bring you peace, Jack. It's going to make you feel even more isolated. Your regrets are going to be larger…even more painful. It's never going to bring Joker back. You're deluding yourself. You're just going to sink deeper into your abyss."

"No. That is not true. I thought this over. Chaos will bring him forward and I will find Joker in this chaos…" Joker shook his head again. "I'm the chaos Jack. You are just a scared kid hiding from your past. And my chaos is something I want the world to see. I warned you that you will suffer some more until you realized how much you needed me, but now you're hurting me. I'm not going to allow that. This is my stage, the Bat is my puppet, Go back to hell and let me do my show."

"It doesn't matter how you try to justify this destruction. You are going to destroy what Joker needs most, and audience to perform to. If Joker can't perform, Joker can't exist. It is a contradiction, Jack. Think about it."

"No...I just want to forget." The Jester said with a giggle. "And I just wanna have fun. Let me have fun in my city."

Joker stepped back taken by a strong pain. He held his head in his head and reclined against one of the evergreen trees. He mumbled something unintelligible to himself, and started to giggle in an almost childish cadence. He turned around and held the tree trunk in his hands. The giggles escalated to chuckles and then to laughter and the laughter went out of control.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it. It is just too funny." The Jester said as he continued laughing. "I am really my worst enemy. I'm the fuel of my own nightmares."

"Joker…" Batman called, trying precariously to stand tall.

"I can't live in this world, because I don't see the joke…but the joke is all around me and I become the only joke. Nothing makes sense anymore…just me, and I'm the master of nonsense. I'm the center of this off-centered world. I'm the eyes of these blinded people. I'm the laughter in their pain."

"Joker calm down. I can help you. I want to help you, please." Batman started to advance towards the now hysterically laughing clown when the Jester turned around to face him with a large smile in his face.

"Oh, but you did. No more pain. You just killed Jack. You know how long I've tried to do that? How can you laugh with that so much pain? Now there is only..." The Clown Prince shrugged smugly. "...joy. You know I told Gordon, right? But he didn't believe me."

"You told him what?"

"Life's a stage. My stage. I remember telling him that. But I forgot telling him his city was the center stage."

"He knows, and you need your stage. You don't want to destroy your stage, do you?"

"Of course not. With the cost of things these days, repairing this city will cost me a fortune. Ask Lex about it. But unfortunately I can't do anything about it." Joker pulled a purple cell phone from his pocket and flipped the cover open. "No, my battery is dead."

"What do you mean?"

The Jester tossed the phone over his shoulder and retrieved another one from his jacket. The one he had used to speak to Montoya. "And this one's Gordy's. No good, Bats. I can't stop the missiles. Only Blip has the codes and I seem to have misplaced a nerd. Isn't this funny? You are risking whatever life is left in you trying to convince me to stop Armageddon and when you do, there is no way for me to stop Armageddon. Guess everybody is going to die in the next act after all." Joker grunted angrily then giggled. "You know me well, eh Batsy? And for the first time, you're on my side? I'm starting to worry about you caring for the murderous clown? I find that touching, though Gordon would say that you are a little touched in the head. Making sure I have an audience to perform even if when I perform people die. That has to be a definitely knew therapy approach."

"But not like Jack. Even you in your chaos you have limits, Joker. Put limits on Jack, don't let him take what is yours…" Batman had to stop to catch his breath against one of the pots. His energy was almost completely depleted. "Do you know how to get to Michael?"

"Not really, that is why I had him in speed dial. So I didn't have to remember that number." Joker laughed sheepishly. "How do you stop a tsunami, Bats? Jack's hatred for the world is strong. I can still feel him, in the back of my head, you know?"

"But you are stronger."

"Awww. Appealing to my ego is not going to help. Because I don't care. I don't care about anything in the whole wide world. I just wanna have fun, and I will have fireworks in a little while. If I can't stop them, why not enjoy them. Are you going to stay for the show too? These fireworks will go down in history."

A bullet flew by Joker too close to the head and hit the wall behind him.

"The only history you're going to make is the one for the most boring clown in history, and the quickest one to die." Charley screamed coming from between the bushes with her arm extended aiming her magnum at the Joker. The Jester's eyes widened in surprise.

"That is not nice, specially after all i have done for you. What are you doing Princess? You were supposed to leave this place."

"Yeah, and meet you where…in Wonderland? I read your silly note, Joker. You were not planning on meeting with us anywhere. You wanted us to get killed covering your ass."

"No, no, no. You stupid bitch. Told you that I wanted to play with the pigs, didn't I? I was covering your ass, so you could leave this place in one piece, but now look where your stupidity has taken you. You're stuck with me."

"But the note…" She protested.

"You couldn't just wait to read it until you were safe, eh my little Pandora," Joker said massaging the bridge of his nose. "See? This is the reason I say that it is useless to make plans. Hmmm.  Or maybe chaos has smiled to my face after all..."

"You mean you don't have a plan to get away?" Charley asked incredulously aiming her gun away.

"None whatsoever." Joker said humbly. "I'm ready for some well deserved R&R in my little room and then you spoil my fun. I just wanted to see the world burn before going to sleep. Was that too much to ask?"

"Is that Batman?" Charley motioned to the figure stirring painfully on the floor.

Joker looked at the Detective then cocked his head. "Hmm…don't know. I thought it was my aunt Matilda, but I don't remember her having ears that long." The Joker busted into laughter while Charley just stared at him strangely. "What?"

"You're such a dork. why don't you kill him? Didn't you want him dead?"

"Oh, he's dying, Princess, so why bother? Just get me the popcorn and I will enjoy his demise even more." Joker brushed the curls away from his face. "If he bothers you so much, kill him yourself. I don't have time to play with him anymore because I have a little predicament. Where's Blip? Oh now I remember. I sent him to play with the dogs, but you are here now. You are the only hope for this world. You have your cell phone with you, right?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Something the Bat said. Go on and play with the bat, dear. I need to figure something out. Can I use your phone? I really need a phone."

"Joker, stop the missiles." The Batman said trying to incorporate himself with great effort. Every single bone and muscle in his body was on fire. His strength had almost completely left him. Was this the end of his battle, and was the Joker about to get the last laugh?

"I'm trying, Bat's…I'm really trying…" The Jester retorted obviously annoyed. "Phone please?"

"What is he talking about, what missiles?"

"You wanted to know why everybody wanted me so bad, especially the feds, no? Well, I have activated the whole United States nuclear arsenal, and now we are going to have fireworks for Christmas Eve unless you have a cell phone with you."

"You did what?" Charley said advancing towards the Clown Prince. "Are you out of your fucking mind?

The Jester looked at her amusingly. "Thought that was the reason you fell in love with me. You knew I was a total whack job from day one.  You told Jake more than once. I remember that well."

"What the hell is wrong with you? How do you want to get rich in a world that is about to go up in a blaze of radioactive fire. This was your plan all the time, eh Joker?" Charley aimed the gun at the Clown who stood calmly in front of her. "We had plans for this city."

"Jack had plans, but with me there was never a plan, Princess. There was an opportunity, I grabbed it. I dealt my hand. Hope you like the gift 'cause I didn't have time to wrap it for you, but how do you wrap a nuclear warhead? They're just so...pointy."

"You demented psycho. You are going to get us all killed. That was not in my contract."

"If you'd have gone to New Zealand like I have originally intended you wouldn't be in this predicament." Joker stated matter-of-factly. "And I really need that cell phone."

"I'm going to blow your head off."

"No, I wouldn't do that. The bat said something that made me think." The Jester combed his wild mane with a hand. "I can't perform without an audience…and I really need to get in touch with Blip to stop the fireworks. I'm not going to ask anymore…can I have your phone?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I can always perform for you." The Jester said with a large smile. "But I need a much larger audience, and I need to find a way to stop Armageddon. It was a wonderful idea with all those dead bodies piled up in radioactive waste, but I need people to laugh at my performances. Once everybody is dead, who am I gonna kill? I'm running out of time and out of patience. Give me the fucking phone or I swear…I'm taking it from your dead body after I do a funny number on you. I'm dying for a good joke, aren't you too?"

"NO, Joker! No more violence." A voice came from within the foliage. He recognized the voice even before he saw her emerging from the garden greenery in her red and black costume and her ghostly white face. She was as beautiful as he remembered her. Almost as beautiful as his Jeannie.

"Look what the cat brought in…" Joker replied with a cackle. "Came to join the party, dear? Fireworks should start anytime now. You have a cell phone, right Harl…?"

"There are not going to be any fireworks."

"What do you mean no fireworks…no explosion, kablooie, mushroom cloud or the whole shebang?" The Jester said somewhat disappointed as he stood squarely with his hands on his hips. "You know something I don't, do you?"

"Yes. That nobody dies tonight."

"But Jack's plan was flawless. You couldn't possibly have stopped the missiles. You had no resources, and your IQ is not much higher than a hyenas. Jack held all the aces…and you don't have a cell phone, do you?" Joker said sadly.

"If Jack would have hired someone as angry and bloodthirsty as him maybe it would have been a flawless plan, but he was stuck with us normal folks. Blowing the whole world was a little too much for Michael to handle and I can't blame him. The idea is just crazy."

"Hmmm, so Blip didn't have the balls to activate the missiles after all…." Joker started to giggle. "I'm going to kiss that nerd. He is so clever. He knew about my need to be the center of attention."

"No one wants to die for Jack."

"OK, OK. I get it. Nobody likes Jack. He's not here any more, alright? I pushed him off the cliff. Well, really the Bat helped, but why ruin the fun?" Joker shrugged. "Would you die for me then? You said you loved me."

"I said nobody dies today."

"Oh, I disagree…somebody will die tonight. If there are not going to be fireworks this is going to be a very boring night. It's time to add some jalapenos to the sauce and spice things up. I want to play and murder is always fun."

"Joker…" Charley asked lifting her gun towards the Clown. "What is all this about?"

"A game. Like checkers , dominoes..you know LIFE. To keep me entertained until Santa brings my gifts. Come on Princess, make daddy happy. Kill the bitch." Joker motioned towards Harley as he grabbed a small metal rod from the floor and swung it over his head. "It was part of your original mission, and you never delivered the goods. It's time now to finish your job. I will play with the bat in the meantime, OK?"

"You are crazy. I'm not following orders from a psycho…"

"Pity, we could have gone places." Joker asked extending a friendly hand to the Leopard leader. "Last offer. Even if I guarantee you a way out of here, is that your final answer?"

"Yes—." Charley started to say when Joker twisted his hand and produced a gun concealed inside his sleeve. He fired at the Leopard leader and hit her blankly on the chest. Before falling to the ground, Charley fired her gun hitting Joker in the stomach. The Jester bent over with a painful grunt and fell on the floor.

"Puddin'!" Harley squealed as she tried to rush to the fallen Clown when she heard him laugh. She stopped and noticed Joker getting up with some effort.

"Aow! That is gonna hurt in the morning…" The Jester said cackling perversely as he rubbed where the bullet should have entered to leave a bloody mess. Instead, the wound looked dry and painless. "But there goes a fine linen shirt to rags…Oh well, at least the good armored vest is still in fashion."

"Joker…" Batman said rising painfully from the floor.

"Shhhh, the games are not done."  Joker warned with an angry finger pointed at the wobbly figure of the Knight. "It's Harley's turn. Ok sweetheart, show daddy how much you love him. Kill the bat for me, would you?"

"I said, nobody dies tonight. And I meant it."

"I see. You grew a heart during your imprisonment. So sad. I still remember all the fun things we did together."

"And you lost your heart when you invited Jack in, Pooh!"

"Touché. My bad, but couldn't help it, Jack and me are two mean sons of a bitch. We together make one mean ass clown though and this time you have no choice. The inside of the penthouse is full of explosives, just like the garden. If you really started to care and want to save this family, you will have to kill for me. Kill the batman and I will not blow up the penthouse, refuse and you will be responsible for the death of three adults, two children, one bat, two clowns and all the pigs on ground zero. Your choice, and by the way before I forget, MERRY CHRISTMAS PUMPKIN!"

Joker busted in a wild crazy laughter as Harley looked behind her to see the family terrorized in the living room. They must know that the place was loaded with explosives or they would have left the apartment. It must be true. Harley looked at the Batman who was obviously doing a superhuman effort to stay standing. The Detective was in his worst shape ever, he wouldn't even last a round with a midget, Harley thought, while she tried to come up with a solution to this situation.

"Come on, Harl…I want to finish this before Santa comes. He's next on my hit list."

She looked at the Batman's blue eyes and something told her that this might not be the end. The Detective nodded as he wobbled towards Harley. Was the Bat-freak willing to fight in these circumstances? He didn't stand a chance. None at all. What was he trying to do? _What he always did, Harley,_ she thought, _save the lives of innocent people…no matter how grim the odds…_


	48. If You Love MeKill for Me

Author's Note: Hiya friends. Another day, another chapter. The postings have been slow due to work. Man, who would have said that Christmas for a veterinarian was going to be that busy. Well, anyhow. This chapter is dedicated to all of you the small group of fans following this story that is about to come to an end. Hope you like this chappie. Please don't forget to leave your feedback either the good the bad or the ugly. I would like to hear it all. More stories are in the works so keep checking OK? Now to the story.

DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and related characters belong only to DC. They are used here for pure entertainment.

DISCLAIMER 2: There might be some instances where there will be MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Be adviced when you read

BETA: Once more I owe a great deal to my wonderful beta, KICHI. This one's for you!!

**Chapter 48: If You Love Me...Kill for Me.**

Harley looked at Batman as he wobbled unsteadily to face her. The Detective could hardly stand on his own and looked even less likely that he would be able to survive a round against a smurf. Harley tried to make sense of what the Knight wanted to do. She turned around to look at Joker who had reclined against a pine tree and lit a Cuban. He glared back at her angrily.

"It's not a game, sweetheart," Joker said taking a long puff of his cigar. "Either one man dies tonight, or this becomes a Christmas Eve massacre. I'll show you what you are really made of, Harl. You start having feelings for these people, including the oversized rodent, and you become weak. I'm willing to forgive what you did with this rat at the asylum if you prove to me you can still kill a dying man in cold blood. Then you will be the woman I can love."

"Can we talk this over, Pooh?" Harley piped as innocent as she could. Joker could sometimes be a sweet Teddy bear. "I can make him cry for his mommy instead…"

"Stop talking and start fighting. I'm getting bored." The Joker barked. "And you know me. If I get bored, I will start to blow things up …"

"Are you…ready?" Batman let out with a great effort. This man was definitely exhausted, and for the first time she wondered if he had also gone mad.

"You crazy, Bats?" She whispered softly. "You can't fight like this…"

"But I can't…let him kill the family. Nobody else dies tonight…remember?"

"Bat-sap, you're making even less sense than my Puddin'…" She muttered.

"Stop pretending Quinn!!!" Batman spat angrily. "You always wanted to impress your boyfriend, now let's get this over with…or stay out of my way!"

"Ooh, the rat is angry…" Joker piped with a joyful cackle. "Better watch out Harl. This one has the rabies."

"What are you--?" Harley started to say to the Knight when the Batman tossed a batarang that missed her barely by a foot. This was no good, Batman never missed. The effort of the throw made the Detective fall to his knees.

"Fight like a man, Quinn." Batman said catching his breath on the floor.

"Fight like… You want to die?" Harley whispered again to the Knight.

"Say it louder…so he can hear you." Batman whispered back.

"Wha--?"

Joker took a deep drag from his cigar and blew a large ring of smoke in front of him at the same time he flicked the cigar to dispose of the accumulated ashes. "Hey Harley, dear. Choke him, stab him, shoot him, kick 'im off the roof or poison him. I don't care, but whatever you do, don't talk 'im to death, please. Your good at it, but it doesn't work with Bats. Come on, sweetie. Use your imagination. Be creative. Murder is not that hard when you put hour heart to it."

Harley looked at the Joker who gestured her to start taking action and start the fight. She turned to the Batman who was now panting on the floor but staring at her. With a loud grung he rose to face her, and she could see the sweat dripping from under the vigilante's mask. This was taking a superhero effort from the Detective and she finally understood what Batman was expecting from her. She started to walk towards the Knight.

"YOU WANT TO DIE…BAT SAP?" Harley growled advancing with clenched fists.

"Bring it on…" Batman responded rising from the floor. His voice sounded hoarse and weak.

Harley swung a fist that the Knight quickly blocked, but not without feeling the pain in his muscles from the effort. He had to concentrate, focus. Play this game with Joker until he could find a way to neutralize him, he reminded himself. The hostages' safety was a priority. Batman responded the attack with a combination of punches that even took Harley by surprise. She ducked, pirouetted, and jumped out of the way of the fist storm. Batman stopped his attack for a moment to catch his breath and Harley charged again.

"That's impressive. Where do you get your strength from, Bats? From dead Robins or dead cats?" Joker piped as he burst into hysterical laughter holding one of the pine tree branches that he started to denude of needles playfully. Harley caught what the Jester was doing. He was trying to make Batman lose his concentration. The Detective counter-attacked with the fury of hell in his fists. Whatever Joker was trying to do was starting to work. Pure adrenaline was fueling this vigilante, for there was no other explanation as to where was he getting the energy to put up a fight. Harley couldn't miss the Detective's last punch and she lost her footing, falling on her back on the floor.

"Hey…I'm a lady!" She protested. "You need to learn some manners, Mr. Bats!"

"And you need to know when to stop, Quinn! Stay down." The Detective snapped taking unsteady steps towards the laughing Clown. The Jester's eyes opened wide with surprise as he bit hard on his cigar. "I'm tired of these games we play, Joker. Surrender now!"

"You're funny even when you're serious, Bats. Come and get me!!!" Joker said as he played hide and seek behind the pine tree he was standing by. "Mmm...HARLLLLEEEEYYYY. Do something!"

"What about we finish this conversation first, Batsap…" Harley responded making the Knight trip with her feet. The corpulent vigilante fell down with a painful grunt. Harley pulled one of the metal torches from its socket and smashed it against the Batman's back.

"Ouch! That's gotta hurt." Joker commented as he walked a few feet away from the two fighters. Better to be at a safe distance than to run the chance of being caught in the bullfight. He shook a joyful fist high into the air. "GO HARLEY, GO!! UHH, UHH, UHH!"

"You should have stayed down, Harley!" Batman barked at the girl who still was hitting him with the remnants of the torch. The Knight grabbed the end of the metal rod and pulled on Harley, who fell on top of him.

"And let you have all the fun?" Harley responded pulling on the detective's mask enough to block his vision. She followed quickly with a jab to the right lower mandible, forcing Batman on his side. "I wanna play too, you know?"

"ENOUGH!!" Batman slapped her on her face and pushed her against the floor. Suddenly the pair was surrounded by a cloud of purple smoke. He whispered to her as he pinned her down. "I need to get closer...win this round."

"Hey! No fair…I wanna see." The Jester protested from behind the pine tree as he tried to get a better view of the pair through the smoke.

"Why didn't you say so, Batsy…?" Harley responded kicking Batman off her with such strength that he stumbled forward towards to land by a large pot beside the Clown. Joker retreated a few paces away from the Detective who was fighting his exhaustion to get up. Harley rose from the floor and advanced quickly towards the fallen Knight. On her way she picked up a gun from the dead cop in the middle of the garden and started to fire at the hero on the floor until the Detective didn't move anymore. Harley put the gun down and panted heavily, then turned to the Jester who was just looking at her with a large smile and wide wild green eyes.

"WOW! And I'd be careful where you point that thing." Joker warned.

"I won…" Harley responded between gasps.

"I disagree. It's not over until the Bat is dead." The Jester cocked his head and forced a grin.

"I just shot him, Mistah J…" Harley protested pointing with the barrel of the automatic to the unmoving black figure on the floor.

"You just shot a man covered in Kevlar, sweetheart." The Jester responded smiling softly. "There's only one weak spot in that armor and is located under his nose and above the chin. Shoot at the face…"

"I can't…it's empty." Harley said pulling the trigger on the gun that only clicked loudly.

"Have no fear; your adoring Joker is here." The Clown Prince said with a fancy bow as he pulled his .38 special from his jacket. "Use mine. Consider it a Christmas gift."

"And if I don't want to…?"

The Jester pulled from the hip pocket of his jacket a small bundle of cables attached to a lighter and waved it in front of her. For Harley it was not hard to figure out what that was. A detonator. "Then we'll be the first group of people to fly to the moon without a rocket…all eight of us. Including the children."

Both of them were surprised by a loud thud beside Joker. The Jester looked and saw the batgrappler line embedded in the masonry behind him. He put the detonator back on his pocket and turned to the Knight with a large smile on his face. The little bat still had enough testosterone to play with him. Joker pulled on the grappler steel line with all his might and laugh.

"What are you trying to do…propel yourself with your toy?" Joker said giggling. He continued tugging playfully from the line. "That's pathetic…and your aim sucks. I'm going to tie this line around your neck and hang you like a Christmas decoration for all the world to see."

"Just wanted…to shock you." Batman responded when the grappler line sparked. Joker screamed as the electricity ran through his body and the shock threw him a few feet back behind the pots. The Jester moaned as he tried to get back up, when he was surprised by a kick on the face the made him fall on his side. His mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood. He felt somebody searching in his pocket and tried to catch the intruder without success. He was too disoriented to know where his hands or his pockets were at the moment and the Jester knew he had been robbed of his weapon. He turned on his back panting heavily when he noticed Harley with the detonator in her hand walking away from him.

Joker sniffled. "Oww…now that really hurts. So you finally showed your colors…eh, sweetheart?" He said laughing softly between gasps of air. "You prefered to cheat on me with the stinky Bat. Pathetic, but then, who else could be interested in you?"

Harley stopped without turning around to face the Jester. His words resonated in her ears and her mind like an avalanche of emotion that culminated on tears pooling in her eyes. She wanted to ask him to forgive her, to accept her at his side so everything could be like before, but the man on the floor was not the one she had fallen in love with. That man was gone, and in his place a monster that fed in anger and suffering was enjoying pushing her buttons. She rubbed her eyes forcefully with one of her tassels. She spoke calmly and in control of herself as she tossed the detonator to the Knight who in no time rendered the fuse useless.

"No one dies tonight, Puddin'...I meant every world I said."

"Yeah, yeah…I heard you. But you know me. I really wanted to see someone die, you'd never understand. You are just like the rest of the citizens of this city, too blind and too stupid to see the big Joke." Joker turned over and with the help of a chair struggled to get up. He grunted when he finally was able to put weight on his legs. His body was not responding as he would have liked and he could feel his hands and feet still tingling from the shock. "After all I taught you...what a waste of my time you ended up becoming..."

"It's over Joker…" The Batman said as he stood, keeping his balance with one of the trees. He noticed Harley unmoving looking at him sadly. "Shut up!"

"Ohhh. Just wait until you get to know her and then you will tell me. And who said anything about this game being over? Santa's not here yet. We have time to play a little longer."

"I'm warning you, SHUT UP!"

"It's only really over when the fat lady sings…and I just slit her throat." The Jester responded standing gingerly in his feet. He extended his right hand and once he held to his concealed gun inside his sleeve he opened fire on and unsuspecting Harley who had her back turned to him. The bullet ripped through fabric and skin injuring her in the shoulder and leaving a bloody mess behind. She fell to the floor screaming in pain.

The Jester, moving at an incredible speed for someone who almost had been electrocuted, grabbed the garden chair he was using for support and smashed it against an incoming the Dark Knight forcing the hero onto the floor. He smashed the chair with all his might a few more times against the Knight, laughing tried to protect himself by crawling away from the psychotic clown, but it was useless against the merciless attack from the Jester. "And never try to get me back with one of my own jokes…OK? They're copyrighted, and next time you use them I'm gonna sue your ass. Get it…Batsy?"

Joker finally stopped when he noticed the Batman was not protecting himself anymore. He set the chair aside and looked at the unmoving figure on the floor, now a mess of blood and bruises and he smiled complacently. This beating had left Joker really tired and sweaty, but he still had enough energy left for another good laugh. He made his way among the plant pots to where Harley was lying on the floor holding her shoulder painfully. She noticed his advance and tried to pull away from him when he grabbed her by one shoe and pulled her towards him.

"Now that was not very nice, Harley…" The Jester said holding tightly to her as she tried to squirm free of his grasp. He licked the blood that had started to drip from the corner of his mouth and moaned softly, as if he was enjoying a delicacy. "You don't only betray me once, but twice…how am I supposed to take that? You said you loved me. I think I need to teach you a lesson…"

"I just didn't want you to be in pain anymore." She answered on the verge of tears as she fought the strong hold even above the pain in her shoulder.

"Well, I got news for you. There is no reason for me to be in pain, because I finally found the Joke. You on the other hand…I don't think you don't look that well…" The Jester pulled a knife he had concealed on his leg. "You seem to be in pain and pain doesn't let you be happy."

"Mistah J….please, stop." Harley protested. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"I know, but I told you, sweetheart…someone is going to die tonight. Better you than me. Here, let me put a smile on your face…"

Harley fought the grip with even more intensity until she was able to free a hand that without second thought she smashed in the Jester's face. Joker grunted and released her to hold his now bleeding nose, as Harley freed herself from him and started to move away as fast as she could by crawling on all fours, only to stumble over Charley's body. The woman on the floor grumbled softly.

"Damn, bitch…out of my way!" She protested as she tried to get up again. Joker quickly caught up with her and started playing with the knife between his hands.

"Oh no, no, no…nobody talks to my dead bitch like that…" Joker piped through a stuffy nose. "Come 'ere."

Harley didn't have any time to think, only to react. Holding herself on the floor, with most of her weight on the good arm, she threw a kick to the advancing Jester that hit him in that sensitive area between the legs. Joker let go of the knife and fell on his knees, with his mouth opened in a silent scream that never found its way out his throat. He cupped his groin with his hands and slowly leaned over until his forehead almost touched the floor.

"Mistah J…" Harley let out with obvious concern in her voice. "Please say something…"

"OH MY GOD! That really hurts!" Joker let out with a loud grunt. "I'm seeing stars…in 3D and color."

"I'm sorry…didn't mean to…but you lost your mind for a moment there…"

"That is not the only thing I lost…GOD!" Joker gasped against the paved floor. "Who turned off the lights…?"

"Oh God, I'm so sorry." Harley said approaching theJester on the floor with suspicion.

"I hope you were not planning on having children because after this…HOLY SHIT…I don't think I can have any. Hell, I don't think I will be able to do much of anything with this thing…You just broke the plumbing Harley. Happy?" Joker let out a soft cackle. "Where did you learn to fight like this…?"

"Learned from the best." She said letting herself on her knees in front of him.

"Heh, don't make me blush. GOD. Let's not do that again, OK, sweetheart?" Joker responded finally being able to kneel on the floor without much pain. His face was covering in sweat and his green hair was a mess of curls that covered part of his face. He still breathed hard as he looked around the floor when he noticed his gun just inches away. He picked it up with a sinister smile on his face. "This is kind of unexpected; ready for round two? Just a quickie, yes?"

Harley knew she was not going to be able to outrun the Joker's .38 special. This was the end of the road. Joker had the upper hand. It was then that she noticed the ghostly figure rising from the floor behind the Jester. It was kind of misty, unclear, and vague but definitely human. Harley's mouth opened in terror as the figure loomed behind Joker. The Clown noticed the look in Harley's eyes and turned around only to face the ghostly terror in the eye. The figure coalesced into a green mass of muscle that grabbed the Joker by the hand holding the gun with enough pressure to force him to let go of the weapon.

"Wow…the Jolly Green Giant…HO, HO, HO…" Joker said with a cackle.

"Game over…Joker." The Martian Manhunter said in a deep commanding voice.

"Really?" Joker smiled sheepishly. "Then riddle me this…do Martians bleed?"With a swift movement Joker pulled another blade and slashed at the Manhunter's face leaving a large gash. The Martian protested the sudden attack and hurled the Jester across the garden against the glass sliding doors that shattered upon impact.

"You all right, Ms. Quinn?" The Martian asked a stunned Harley Quinn. She nodded silently at the large green figure. The Manhunter ran a hand over his gash and noted the green blood that had started to seep. He advanced over where Batman still laid unmoving and put a hand over his neck. "We are going to need medics here, Diana. Batman is unconscious and has lost a lot of blood."

"That one is gonna leave a bruise…" Joker protested trying to get up from the apartment floor amidst shards of glass scattered underneath him. He was covered in debris, cuts and scratches. Some of the cuts had started to bleed profusely- especially one on his right arm. One large shard was embedded in his left shoulder. He gritted his teeth and pulled at the shard leaving a large gash behind that continued bleeding profusely. He could feel the blood starting to trickle down his arm. He started to giggle childishly as he shook his arm leaving blood splattered all over the floor. "Heh, tell me Martian, are you the new muscles of the team now that the Boyscout is gone? Because you got a lot to learn. You're not even half the alien the Kryptonian was…"

Joker had just finished his words when he felt something large slam him against the wall. The Green Martian stood in front of him again, pressing him hard against the brick wall. "You have caused a lot of damage and made a lot of people very angry, Joker. I would shut up if I was you."

The Jester giggled while staring straight into the Martian's red eyes. "And miss your angry face when I remind you that it was me who killed Superman and sent Stewart to the hospital? No way Greenie…"

Manhunter threw the Joker once more, this time across the living room where he crashed against the fireplace. The Jester started to laugh…

"Ow! Another bruise. Martians have no sense of humor I tell you…" Joker said matter-of-factly to the hostage family. He spoke to them as if he had known them for ages. "Which makes my work a lot harder but much more rewarding…." He busted in another laughing fit. Manhunter grabbed the Jester by the shoulder and spun him around to face him. Joker tried unsuccessfully to connect a jab into the Martian. J'onn held the Jester by the wrists and lifted him until he was eye to eye with him. "You need more experience with me. You are so…green!"

The Jester kicked the Martian in the groin without obtaining the desired response. "Don't tell me you guys don't have balls either." Joker piped swinging from the Martian's grip while he giggled joyfully. "OK I give up. My arm hurts. Put me down, put me down and I promise to tell you how I beat Stuart to a pulp…"

"I said shut up!" The Martian barked when he let go of Joker who slid down to the floor laughing in loud crazy guffaws. "Normally I'm a very patient individual, Joker, but you are terribly annoying…"

"That's what the guards say at the asylum…they must be Martians too. That explains a lot, you know, Greenie?" Joker combed the curls from his forehead and looked at the family in the living room. "Kinda cold in here, no? Must be that open door. Let me heat things up a little…"  
The Jester turned around and moved the cover to the fireplace. He grabbed the stirrer and poked the valve under the ceramic log and squirted his bouttoniere into the fire euntil he made the flames grow rapidly out of control.

The Martian pulled the Jester away from the fire, but the Clown Prince turned around with the fireplace cover in hand and smashed it against the Martian's head. J'onn hit the wall beside him and held his head in pain. Joker ran away from the flames that had started to fight their way out of the fireplace and ran towards the garden laughing. No need to push his luck with fire when there were explosives around. He had learned to respect the power of dynamite and household flammables.

Then Joker heard a gunshot and felt his left knee on fire. He screamed. The pain extended up his spine to the base of the brain and he felt his legs turn to jelly as he fell heavily on the floor. Blood was coming from a hole on the backside of his leg. Some had shot him cowardly from behind. He painfully turned to see the face of the jellyfish who had committed such a dastardly act, only to see Charley's gun jerking in the woman's hand on the floor. Her finger twitched over the trigger and then stopped. The look on her eyes though now lifeless, had the remnants of anger and resentment. Joker looked at his bloody knee and laughed. He found it hilarious to have been shot by a dead person…or at least someone he had taken as dead. Then another dead person hovered above his head before landing in front of him.

"You must be fucking kidding me…"Joker piped angrily looking into the large red letter S on the chest of the caped hero. "I must not be trying hard enough if I can't kill at least one of you right. Now I suppose you wanna get even after what I did to you, eh Supes? Be kind. No hard feelings, I was just playing with you."

"Sure you were, Joker." Superman said acidly. "And there is no need to worry. I'm not driven by vengeance."

"That's good to hear—." Joker said when Superman slapped the Clown Prince on the face sending him flying to land noisily over the garden furniture a few feet back.

"But that was for Stuart, you son of a bitch."

The Jester moaned painfully from the floor, but didn't move. Superman looked into the penthouse and he saw the Martian Manhunter walking towards him, covered in sweat and soot.

"Everything OK, J'onn?"

"The Clown tried to start a fire inside the penthouse that would have set the explosives in the corner. I was able to cut the gas to the fireplace before any more damage could be done."

"Good. You said Batman needed help. Where is he?"

The Manhunter moved fast across the garden where Batman still laid on his back. The blood on the Caped Crusader had already dried and caked on the side of his face. Superman looked at the Knight's armor and sighed in relief as he noted the rising chest. The Detective was still breathing. He put a hand on the Batman's neck when the Knight grabbed him forcefully and opened his eyes. When he realized he was among friends he loosened the grip on the Kryptonian's hand.

"Take it easy…we are going to take you to a hospital." Superman told the Knight.

"The hostages…alright?" The Detective muttered nervously. "Harley…where's Harley?"

"The hostages are all safe." The Man of Steel answered looking around to see Harley walking towards the garden furniture. "And Harley is there by Joker. You think you can travel? You look bad…"

"Joker…poisoned me, Nightwing. Acting on my metabolism. I'm dying…Nightwing dying too. Where's Joker?"

"Taking a nap. We have everything under control, Batman, don't worry."

"We need Joker." The Knight made a paused and swallowed hard. "He is immune to the poison. A variant of his toxin…need his blood to make an antidote."

"There is something really wrong here. Why isn't he woke up too." Harley said to the Kryptonian while holding an unresponsive Joker in her hands. She shook the Jester, slapped him and he didn't even groaned. "Mistah J., wake up please. It's me, Harley. Do you hear me?"

Still no response from the Clown Prince of Crime. Superman motioned J'onn to check on the Jester. The Manhunter felt a thin icy wrist albeit a fast and thready pulse on the Joker. His pupils were contracted but fixed. Joker's condition was not looking so good. His leg was soaked in blood and had started to pool under him and the cuts' on his arm and shoulder had not clotted yet, dripping a dark red blood through his clothing.

"What's wrong?" Harley asked concerned at the unresponsiveness of the Clown Prince.

"Superman, Joker has lost a lot of blood and feels really cold. I think he might be going into shock."

"Help him, please…" She pleaded, holding tight to the Jester's head.

Batman raised a weak hand towards the Kryptonian. "If he dies, the antidote dies…with him."

"Ok, we need to move fast. J'onn, you take Joker, I will take Batman and rush them to the nearest hospital.

"Don't let 'im die, please." Harley pleaded with tear overflowing her blue eyes.

"We will do our best." The Martian Manhunter responded taking the Jester's limp body from Harley's arms. From the roof of the penthouse a group of SWAT uniforms started rapelling down. More officers climbed over the rail of the terrace to land in the garden. One of the officers started to walk towards the Martian.

"Excuse me, but we have orders to get the Joker into custody." Said the officer swinging his assault rifle in front of him.

"The Joker is in custody of the Justice League, gentlemen. He will be safely kept under lock and key until he can be transferred to the local police department." Superman responded.

"We have our orders. United States Department of Homeland Security demands custody of the murderer."

"Then have them take their demands to the Justice League main board. Right now I have to help save one man's life and the Joker is coming with us. Let's go, J'onn." The Martian Manhunter quickly became airborne with the Joker in his arms. Superman followed taking with him the Dark Knight. The Kryptonian stopped for a moment in midair to look at the police officers who were ready to protest the refusal to give up the Joker. "The subject is not open to discussion and you need to neutralize the explosive scattered all over the place. There are hostages inside the penthouse. Worry about them. We'll worry about Joker."

Both heroes left the terrace and flew in direction of the Gotham Central Medical center, to supply Batman and Joker with their most needed medical attention. The SWAT team leader mumbled something and looked at Harley kneeling on the floor staring sadly at him.

"OK, you're the Joker's girlfriend, no? Put your hands over your head now!" He aimed the assault rifle at her. "You're under arrest."

Harley took one last look at the two figures flying away towards downtown and then looked back at the officer pointing his rifle at her. This was the end. She tried to raise her hands above her head when her shoulder exploded in excruciating pain. The world around her lost focus becoming a large blurr and she felt her energy leaving her. She closed her eyes and slumped on the terrace floor with a painful moan. Blood started to pull now visibly around her injured shoulder.

"This doesn't look good. Control we are going to be needed an ambulance now!" The SWAT officer spoke through her communicator as more the uniforms had started to arrive arrived to the building rapelling through the outer rail. They were the elite bomb squad from the Police department.

* * *

Hope you like it...TBC


	49. Resolutions

_**Author's note:** Hey everybody. I'm alive and back. After a forced sabattical to attend personal issues and work related businesses I have returned to finish my stories. Not only this one but alsoo the Joker's Playmate that was in an involuntary hiatus. New chapter is on its way. I promise you are all going to hear from me again, since I don't plan going anywhere and the muse has come to visit. My most sincere thanks to all my faithful fans without whom I would be anything. Hope you have enjoyed this story so far, it was a fun trip._

_Remember that all your comments are always welcomed as long as they are well intended. Any try to belittle, insult or abuse either the fans or me will be rejected. For now, I would dedicate this chapter to those of you that I know read, but do not feed back. Hope you liked the story as well, since my only intention when creating this plot was entertain. If you have enjoyed the read, my mission is accomplish_

_Feel free to leave feedback thoug, it's always helpful. Enjoy this little chapter._

DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and all other related characters belong to DC COMICS

DISCLAIMER 2: Some mature language and situations might be seen, please be adviced

BETA: Once more thanks a million to the wonderful KICHI for such an awesome work. Best beta ever!!

**CHAPTER49: RESOLUTIONS**

Arkham.

This had always been an unhappy, grim place. Nobody liked to joke around and laughter was nonexistent unless it came from cell 0801 in the bowels of the Asylum. That was the Joker's home for most of his adult life. Normally the Jester would find something dark and gruesome he could twist in his head and turn into the funniest thing in the whole world, and fill the halls of this institution with his shrilling maniacal laughter. Not today. The entire hospital was silent. It was like being at the cemetery. Not even Joker was laughing, probably of the heavy sedation they had to use on him to ease the pain of his wounds, or maybe because deep inside him, Jack was still torturing him and taking his joy from him.

Harley sighed as she turned around on her bed and curled up into a fetal position on her bed, still holding onto the green and purple Teddy Bear she kept in her cell as her single companion. It was hard to move without having her shoulder burst in a sharp pain that made her cringe. That was the painful reminder of her last encounter with the Joker. The same Joker that had given her this green and purple Teddy Bear for her birthday with X's for eyes and a purple tongue to match. It looked as if someone had choked the bear to death, and her Clown would be the only one to find that funny.

She thought of the white skinned man in cell 0801 and two furtive tears fell down her cheeks only to wet the soft pillow under her head. All she wanted was to be with him, console his aching heart with her love and care. She had been sure that she could cure him, but instead, she had fallen into the same madness that had engulfed the Jester and that had been her undoing for it had almost cost her, her life at the penthouse.

"I just wanted to make you better, Puddin'," she whispered to her Teddy's ear. "I wanted you saner so you could see how much I cared for you…how much I loved you. I wanted to save you, but the only safe place for you is that little place in your head you call home and nobody understands. But your insanity in a one man's show, and there was never a part for me to play in it."

Harley bit her lower lip and held tightly to Teddy. She still remembered the Jester getting ready to slice her up a few days ago. In her memory was the image of his sinister smile as he shot her. It had been a miracle that she was not dead, and Joker had not been part of that miracle. "I wish I could have helped you understand, but maybe I was just a lousy psychiatrist that didn't realize her patient needed his insanity more than he needed air to breathe. Could the cure to your anger be your insanity? I don't know. What I know is that I can't have you suffering all that horror you went through, just to satisfy a love crush. I can't deprive you of your only chance for peace.

"I can't stop thinking about you either, but every memory I have of us, involves pain and blood and many times they were mine. Jack doesn't love anything or anyone, and Joker only care is in how many ways he can play with people. I became one of his many toys, when I dreamt of becoming so much more.

"You taught me to dare be different, Mistah J; to put the world upside down on his head and to mock their rules. You were right. I was one of them, the puppets you find so amusing, and you dared me to be me which I tried with all my heart just to please you. And instead of that granting me the freedom you promised, it enslaved me to your circle of violence and I ended up bleeding for you. I don't' have anything else I can give you…and you can't give me anything else."

"It's not your fault, is it?" Harley turned over on her belly and set Teddy on her pillow and stared at him intensely. She was waiting for him to speak, and take her out of this dilemma. "What else is left for you to give when everything else has been taken away from your life?"

It had always been a battle of extremes that Joker had no control over. Every time she tried to remain neutral it had cost her cuts, bruises, and broken bones and for what? She now knew he will never respond in the way she wanted him to because in his insane mind, there was no space for love; just fun at someone else's expense.

"Oh, Mr. J. It's not gonna be easy leaving you behind, but I'm a free spirit and I can't do it beside you, no matter how much I try to delude myself thinking I can. You were right, life is total chaos. It is what could have been and what never will be. And it will never be ours. I wish," her voice cracked as she felt a knot on her throat. "I wish you one day will find the peace you want maybe then we could be together..."

The lights on her block started to go off. It was time to go to sleep. Tomorrow will be another day. Harley kissed the Teddy bear tenderly on top of the head and set him aside on the small night table beside her bed. "Good night, Puddin'," she whispered softly as she put her hands under her pillow and closed her eyes drifting slowly into Morpheus world of dreams.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gordon was reading a police report on the hospital bed with half a dozen more still sitting beside him to be perused. Convincing the Police Department that he was well enough to still help with the Joker investigation, had been an impossible battle, until he pulled some favors to old friends that allowed him some limited, but continued access to the latest developments on the case. The file in his hand was Montoya's report on the events at the housing complex a few days ago. The Commissioner was distracted from his reading by a loud knock at his door.

"Come in," Gordon answered putting the file he was reading on top of the pile beside him. The door opened and he saw the black silhouette of the Dark Knight glide quickly into the room, enveloped in his black cape. Jim Gordon smiled. "I don't know what scares me more…either seeing you coming out of nowhere or hearing you knock at the door. It's not your style."

"Neither has yours been leaving work at the office either, Jim." Batman noted with a very subtle smile and pointing at the bundle of files beside the Commissioner.

"No, it hasn't...." Gordon answered with a smile as he looked at the small tower of files, shook his head. "Touché."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'll survive," Gordon said taking his eyeglasses off to clean them with the corner of his bed sheet. "They did surgery on my knee yesterday. They said it's going to be some time before I can go tango again. What about you?" The Commissioner took off his glasses and cleaned them with the bed sheet. "I heard you and Nightwing almost died."

"I was lucky to have the League help me develop an antidote in time to save us. That was a close call."

"You even saved the Joker's life. I'm sure he's going to be thrilled when he finds out about that."

"I did what I needed to do. Joker's blood held the clue to develop the antidote."

"I bet..." Gordon replaced his glasses over his nose. "Luckily the nightmare is over. Joker is back in Arkham and the nuclear missiles were just one of Blip's computer simulations. Harley told the CIA and the FBI all about it. Guess he didn't have the guts to make true of the Clown's threats."

"Michael is not a murderer…he's just a misguided genius."

"I hope he learned the lesson of not messing with the Clown. The Department emitted an order for his arrest and the Feds want him too for the missile problem." Gordon looked at the Detective who seemed to be abstracted in his own thought. "Is there something wrong?"

"I…I was just thinking…"

"There IS something wrong, isn't it?"

"All that hate inside Jack, fueling Joker. It all…leading to this…"

"So the Clown has issues. You already knew that."

"Never like this. I never met Jack before."

"Me neither, but I don't want to see that son of a bitch again. I think it's fair to say that Jack could be worse than Joker to a point."

"Anger. Isn't it what drives us all one way or the other, Jim? Yours is against those who threaten the citizens of your city. Mine is deeply anchored in my past and makes me hate everything that's evil. Jack just hates the world."

"What's your point?" Gordon asked eyeing the Detective with reserve.

"It could have been me instead of Joker. It could have been me losing control of this driving force inside me. Me the one who needed to be locked up in Arkham."

"But you're not. You'll never be Joker, Batman. The man was bad seed from the beginning. I met them both remember?"

"And what makes us different? Can I one day become like him?"

Gordon massaged his overgrown beard and moustache. "I don't know, I'm not a psychiatrist. But I can tell you that both you and Joker are made up differently. You want to save lives. That is the goal of your crime fighting career. Joker and Jack…they both wanted to destroy everything around them. One because he hated the world, the other because he thought it was funny to see it burn. You are not Joker."

"I wish it could be that easy…just black and white. But real life now is a shade of gray, and after today I will have to keep my anger in check. I don't want to lose control. I can't risk straying from this path. A lot of people depend on me."

"Do whatever you want, but you will never become anything like Joker…or Jack. I'm so sure of that that I will bet my badge and my pension on it."

Batman reminded silent for a moment. Tension building slowly between. The Knight for once felt weak…vulnerable. Losing control had become a real, tangible fear, but he couldn't let that fear take control of him or his emotions. He had worked to do and that work demanded that he could remain focused and determined.

"When are they transferring him to the federal justice system?"

"Don't know. The President wants him as soon as a doctor certifies he can travel…Joker is still convalescent at Arkham after the incident on the penthouse."

"What do you think?"

"About what…him leaving my city? I can't wait until the day he leaves this city for good…"

"To be executed by the federal government. What about justice…will it be served then?"

"What is wrong with you? This is the Joker you are talking about…" Gordon said adjusting his glasses to take a closer look at the Detective.

"A very disturbed man…who needs psychiatric help. You saw him."

Gordon looked at the Detective resentfully. "I can't believe this…from you. Joker killed close to three hundred people and hacked into the defense system in an effort to kill millions more. He deserves to pay for what he did…"

"I'm not saying he shouldn't. But we also need to be fair in applying the punishment, not throw him to the lions just because of what we feel towards him. We are bound to justice…and he should be treated justly…"

"But he…"

"Harley saved your life." Batman said simply

"So? What does that have to do with all this?"

"She's doing a life sentence because of Joker, but would you say that Harley is the same crazy woman that you locked up in Arkham years ago, or is she now somehow different?"

"That' true," Gordon admitted. "She…she was not as crazy."

"If it wasn't for her…I would have not gotten a glimpse of who Jack was. She enlightened this investigation and helped us solve it. She delivered you from harm and she fought Joker on the penthouse to protect people she didn't know."

"Yes…I read the report on all that." The Commissioner said waving Montoya's report in his hand.

"Doesn't the system reward the good and punish the bad…?

"You seem to forget," Gordon said readjusting himself in the bed. "She's still in love with the Joker..."

"Is that a crime? She still saved you from him besides her feelings."

"What you want me to do…? I can't just forget what she has done in the past…because of him."

"Just do what is right…let justice prevail. The same applies to Joker…justice has to be served above all."

"This…this has affected you deeply, hasn't it?" Gordon asked still gazing at the Dark silhouette in front of him. "You're concept of justice is somewhat different…"

"You could say that it has made my sense of justice evolve." Batman responded solemnly. "Life is not longer that simple…or monochromatic. We all change given the right time…"

"…and I don't know if this is the right thing to say in your case, but you look less…grimm."

"I have reasons to celebrate. You and Robin will recover from Joker's attack. Nightwing survived the poison. I need to value the positive moments of my job… which are not many, because life is very short."

"What about…Selina?" Gordon inquired.

"She is in stable condition, but still in a coma. Only time will tell. But you know Selina…"

"Yes…she has more lives than a cat. She'll be back…"

The door to Commissioner's Gordon room opened and his daughter Barbara rolled in her wheelchair. In her hands she carried a bag of Burger King and a Starbuck's coffee cup.

"Batman…what a surprise." Barbara said setting the food and coffee in the table nearby his father. "Good to see you totally recovered from the Joker's poison."

Batman smiled. With her there was no need to pretend. Barbara Gordon was really Oracle and without her help, he wouldn't have found Joker through the tunnels. But that was a piece of information the Commissioner did not need to know so he continued the game.

"Thank you, Ms. Gordon." The detective responded with a polite nod. "I think I will be leaving now, Jim."

"You sure?" Barbara quipped. "I just brought some food for my dad…he hates the hospital food."

"It tastes like cardboard…" Gordon added with a chuckle.

"I understand, but I will go and visit Robin upstairs and see how he's doing. Wish you a speedy recovery Commissioner…" Batman said as he exited the room and headed towards the elevators. Life had indeed changed. Nothing seemed so easy or so clear now. Could he ever be the same man he was before this entire nightmare started?

No, impossible.

A lot of things had happened during all these past months, things that had left a profound mark on him, and that he will have to thank Joker for even if he didn't want to admit it. But the Clown also taught him how far anger could lead someone without control… Batman will never let himself get to that point. He couldn't, because he was more powerful than the anger…and he was in control of his actions.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Batman entered Robin's hospital room, a tall blonde nurse was checking tie vitals on the Boy Wonder. Robin waved effusively at the Detective.

"You need to stay still, sweetheart." The nurse warned.

Robin froze and just looked at her attentively. "Yes, ma'am."

Once the nurse had finished running her examination and the bandaging on the boy's head, she picked up her equipment and walked out the room without even looking at the Batman as she left.

"Boy you never stop scaring people around here…" Robin said with a wide smile. It was good to see that smile in the young man's face after all he went through. "Good to see you. How's Wing…?"

"Back home, doing much better. How're you feeling…?" The detective asked standing beside the bed with the cape wrapping him from the shoulders down.

"Ready to get back home. And how's Gordon…?"

"Doing well too. He just had surgery on his knee yesterday. Looks like he will do a complete recovery too."

"Yeah, that's good, but I'm still feeling stupid after I let my guard down with that Clown."

"You were not expecting him…"

"No…you don't know. I saw his face just before he shot my bike. I will never forget that evil smile. I just froze…couldn't move a muscle until it was too late." Robin put a hand over the bandage on his head. "And then everything went black…"

"But you are OK now, that is what is important…"

"But what if other people depended on me…? They could have died…"

"But they didn't. Don't think about that, just get well and going back to your training will help you focus and build the confidence you need. Joker surprised us all. I'm not happy that he was able to play with me like he did."

"Nobody wants to tell me anything. What did you do to him…? Somebody said you almost killed him."

"No. He almost killed me. The league interfered and now Joker's back at the Asylum where he belongs." Batman responded simply. It was hard to admit that this time the Clown Prince of Crime almost defeated him.

"And what is going to happen to him now? This is the worst Joker murder spree in the history of the city."

"The government wants to trial him through the federal courts for Terrorism."

"That's not good news for the Clown, eh? He deserves it and I hope he gets the injection this time…He deserves to die." Robin said with a resentful expression on his face. Batman just looked silently at the boy. So young and already wishing the death of a fellow human being. It doesn't matter if it was Joker or not, it was just a primal wish for revenge and a dangerous wish. A crime fighter had to be above revenge, above hatred. "Hello…?"

"What…?" Batman replied realizing he had being caught with his mind wandering.

"What about Blip?" Robin replied crossing his arms over his chest. "Everything OK?"

"Everything's OK. I'm just tired." The Detective said trying to sound convincing enough. "He's still at large, but the police are closing in his trail. It will be a matter of time before he falls too."

"That little nerd got himself in some deep shit when he decided to work for the Joker."

"The Joker can influence young minds without focus…it is as much Michael's fault as it is Joker's."

"Well, I hope they catch him soon and lock him up, making sure they lose the key in the process."

There was that anger again…emanating from Tim's pores. Why did it bother him so much now? What had the Joker done to him? There was a soft knock on the door of the room and Nightwing, in full costume, made a flashy entrance with a bow. Both Batman and Robin stared in awe at the young man.

"Hey, Wing…" Robin spurted out joyfully making a peace sign on his chest. "We were talking about you a moment ago, but I wasn't expecting a visit…"

Batman remained silent. Dick smiled. "Got bored at home and decided to pay a visit to my li'l bro. Wasn't expecting you here during the day, Boss…"

"Needed to visit Gordon and opted to do it early. How are you feeling today?" Batman replied.

"I'm fine. I probably slept for thirty hours straight…enough to cure any exhaustion I had left from the venom. That was some powerful concoction, man…"

"You needed to rest…" Batman said sternly.

"I am. No crime fighting for me for a while. I just came to see Tim, today. I really miss the little runt…"

"Hey!" Robin protested pointing angrily at Dick. Nightwing stuck his tongue out and made a raspberry as he approached Tim at bed.

Batman smiled. Life was slowly going back to normal. "Then I will leave you guys catch up." The Detective started to walk out of the room

"You don't have to leave." Tim said somewhat resentfully. "You just got here."

"Have to run over some evidence. I still need to track down Garibaldi." Batman responded reaching the door.

"A detective's work is never done, eh old man?" Dick said waiving gently. The Detective disappeared silently through the door. "See you in headquarters."

"You think he's OK, Wing? I mean, he's been awfully quiet and not all there, if you know what I mean. And he doesn't seem to want to let go of the case either."

"He's just tired and with the Big Bad Clown behind bars, Batman will soon be back to his old self. Besides… when has Batman liked to chat?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was early morning when he woke up. He could hear voices outside of his cell, very close to his cell, voices he didn't recognized, but that incessantly repeated his name over and over again. Joker this…don't let Joker do that….don't listen to Joker…and all that conversation about rules was really boring. Life had no rules on his book. This place looked so familiar. Same smell of bleached walls and polished floors, same desk and chair bolted to the floor along with the same plain white bare wall. Yes…this was home. But at the same time there was something different here and he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

He took a look around the cell, maybe he could find out what it was that felt so odd and out of place. It was then that he noticed the little camera attached to the ceiling behind the acrylic door. An audience, he thought as he blew off some curls from this face

Joker sat on the bed and suddenly felt as the world started to spin around him. He closed his eyes and swallow several times fighting the nausea. When he finally opened his eyes again the world was just swirling slowly in front of him. He remembered the feelings of sedatives when they started to wear of, and they could at times be worse than LSD.

He felt like home…away from home. It was an odd sensation. He tried to turn around when he noticed his arms tightly wrapped in a cream colored straitjacket with tightly bound straps securing his arms and torso. '_This one is gonna take a little time to figure out_', he thought to himself as he looked at the camera again with a wide toothy smile. He shook in his restraints and the effort left him with his arm on fire. He looked down to his bound arms and noted a small amount of blood seeping through the yellowish fabric of the straitjacket.

"And now for my next act I'm gonna show you a bleeding Clown." Joker started to say when all of a sudden he felt at a loss of words. A bleeding Clown…where was that funny punch line? The Jester frowned. What happened to his sense of humor…?

"_No sense of humor today Clown…just pain."_ He told himself in a dark, deep voice. He started to giggle again, quickly escalating into spastic chortles. "I need to do something funny. Who can tickle my funny bone while dying in horribly in pain? I know…GUARDS!"

Nobody answered and nobody came by. He was still alone in his cell. He finally turned over and sat on the bed, but when he put his left leg on the floor, a shot of deep pain ran up to his brain making him cringe… Pain. That was something he couldn't seem to forget and his body was now a constant remainder of that pain. Why…why him…?

"Because I'm special…" Joker said followed by explosive chortles.

"_You like pain…so have some pain…."_ The Jester told himself in that deep tone.

"No, not my pain, but yours Jackie old chum. I have your aspirin right here…were you like it. Laughter's the best medicine. You had your time, and what a waste of time it was. Now…IT'S JOKER TIME!!!!" The Clown Prince said as he started to dance at the rhythm of Hammer Time as he hummed the tune. The pain to his leg and his arm returned. "OUCH…!"

"You should take it easy with your injuries. They need time to heal." He heard a familiar voice in front of him. He looked and noticed a black silhouette standing right there in front of him behind the acrylic door of his cell. Where had he come from?

"Hija Bats, missed me?" He said as his smile spread across his pasty face like a wound. What seemed so funny? Batman just stared at the Jester in the straitjacket as he walked to stand just a few inches from the acrylic. There was a long and tense silence between both enemies that seemed to extend forever. "Clock's ticking…Tic, Toc, Tic, toc… HA! You blinked!"

"Are you still angry, Jack?" Batman said.

"The person you're trying to reach…has been permanently disconnected. Been evicted for life from the Corpus Callosum of my psychotic brain." The Jester said at last as he started to laugh out of control.

"Has he really? I don't believe you." Batman retorted. "I know you're in there somewhere, Jack."

_"If I see 'im I'll send 'im your regards…"_ Joker said between giggles as he tried to get up and walk towards the door only to fall back on his bed. It was too painful to just stand a few seconds. "I can't believe you want to see that loser again… He was as funny as a doorknob and you saw what he was capable of doing…no style at all. I, on the other hand, am handsomer and have a wonderfully twisted sense of humor that makes everybody die laughing. That is what I call innate talent." Joker tried unsuccessfully to stand.

"Just sit down and listen." Batman reiterated. "I need to tell you something."

"What…that you're obsessed with me?" Joker replied. "I know that, but sorry Bats…I don't do animal sex."

"Will you put down your Clown façade for a moment and just listen to me?" The detective retorted angrily.

"Well, you're talking and I don't think you plan on shutting up anytime soon. That must be a record…whole five minutes, Bats, and using full sentences. Congrats…you will go down in the Guiness." Joker piped calmly as he stared at the caped figure in front of him with a tense look on his face. He was holding down his anger. "Will you go now? You're ruining my nap time and I get cranky without my nap."

Batman clenched his fists beside him. He was starting to lose it with the Clown. His anger…that horrible thing that he had in common with Joker… Batman let out a sigh and unclenched his hands. "I just wanted to let you know that I really never wanted to harm you…intentionally. You probably think I'm your worst enemy, but I'm not. I didn't kill your wife or your son. Doyle did. You are your worst enemy, Jack. You cause yourself all this unnecessary pain, when it is just so easy to accept help…to sift through your anger."

"Deluded rodent. I'm a Clown. Clown's don't get angry…we laugh and make others laugh…until they die. And you are the funniest thing to happen to me since I got to this city. You're funnier than terminal cancer… and that's a riot."

"You are not a Clown…you are a man in pain that hides behind a Clown mask….Joker is not you, Jack."

"Blah, blah, blah…and Batman is not you." Joker said at the same time he made a large noisy yawn. "I know who I am, but do you know who you are? You have that same fire that tortured li'l old Jack all his life and you know it. How long can you keep it under control? Will you ever snap and let the fire go wild?"

"This is not about me…"

"Oh yes it is…" Joker interrupted licking his parched lips. He pulled his mouth into a wide perverse smile. "That's why you're here. You're trying to convince yourself that you have everything under control, including me; that your anger is in check and the Clown is on the cage. That life is pink and smells like candy corn. Life is a nightmare, Bats. You live yours and I lived mine. Only when you open your mind to total chaos you can laugh at your nightmares. Otherwise you just hide your life under a cowl and call it a purpose. Coward…"

Batman took a deep breath. "It was chaos what almost took you and Jack down for good."

"It was your so called inner peace what almost made you meet with your maker. You should have done what needed to be done and kill Jack. That would've saved me so much precious time…"

"And what about you? You will not be here if Jack had died."

"I'll never die, because I'm a part of you as you are of me. And you know me, I'm always around. I'm the joy of your sorrow, the Hate to your Love, the Ying to your Yang. I'm always here…and I'll always be. Where will this city be without some old fashioned Joker comedy?"

"I'm never going to go down to your level, Joker."

"No, because you are afraid that you might like what you see…" The Jester responded with a cackle. "…and REALLY want to stay there."

"You're not the only one who has ever been in pain, Jack. You know that, don't you?"

"No but I'm probably the only man in the world who has bat nailed to his ass…ohh , my sore and tender ass. Can someone have mercy and pull this bat off my ass?" Joker made a fake expression of pain and laughed again. "Is this a new type of therapy,using boredom to turn my head around? It's not gonna work. You just gonna get me to go to sleep."

"Jack, please. Listen to me. This rage will only bring your death. I don't want to be your enemy. I want you to be free before…before one of us dies."

"And when is that glorious day coming?" Joker finally said with some interest and a large smile."Need to know, so I can hire the band to play at your funeral."

"This is not funny, Jack." Batman replied. The Jester giggled maliciously. "The Federal government is taking custody of your case. This time is the end of the road, the end of the joke."

"Every Joker has a punchline and I haven't delivered mine yet." Joker said as he stretched painfully on his straitjacket. "I love punch lines. I'm a master at delivering punch lines…and that reminds me of a joke."

"You're not delivering any punch line this time Joker. This is the end of the show. What you did had no excuse. The Government is not going to be forgiving this time."

"Tomorrow's show will be better." The Jester piped joyfully.

"There is no show tomorrow, Jack. That is what I'm trying to tell you. Please try to understand." Batman said as the Jester stared at him in bewilderment. The blank look in those green eyes of the Clown Prince clued the Detective that the Joker didn't understand what he was saying. "This is it."

"What is? Is it you…or is it me? The Joker sniffed his straitjacket and shook his head in disgust. "No, it is not me. So it must be you. Though I think it was them, unless we can blame it on he, she and it. Then WE can all have a party. And WE love parties don't we boys."

"This is your last show." Batman said in the hope that the Jester will understand the show business jargon.

"I will just have to wait for the reviews. They will grant me another season once they see the ratings."

"JOKER!" Batman yelled losing his temper. The Joker smile widened maliciously as if this was part of a plan he had device to make the Batman lose it. The Detective backed off one step and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Jack, I really want to help you. I want to show you that there is more than hatred and pain, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You think your wife would like you to live in this darkness you enclose yourself in? Take the initiative. Let go of the past and learn to live free. Your wife would have wanted that for you, because she loved you as much as I'm sure you loved her. Please let me in, so I can help you."

Joker frowned and looked down to the floor. He started to feel butterflies on his stomach, but why?

"Where am I going? I…I…Is it Tuesday?" Joker started to say when he felt a lump in his throat. What was this rodent doing to him? He felt his stomach tighten, and he hated that feeling in his gut. He never dealt well with pain. "I know …I know this funny joke. There was a rabbi, a priest, and a…"

"I don't want to hear one of your jokes, Jack. I want you to stop hurting."

Joker frowned. "Then leave because you're boring me…and boredom like this really hurts. You're so stiff…so consumed in your own self-righteousness that you are blind to the reality of the world you live in. This city has been doomed since the day it was born. We are all children of chaos and to total chaos we shall return. Why don't you believe me? Just think, why is it that you can't win this war to save the city's soul? Is it really that much worth fighting a battle you know is doomed? If you really believe that, then you are crazier than me, but then, that is what makes you a lot of fun to play with too. Now, if you don't have anything more interesting to say you're wasting my happy hour. It's two for one psychosis night…so shoo." The Jester busted in a crazy laughter.

"Is this the way you want it?" Batman pressed on.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The Jester replied between chortles. "Humor is a cup filled with the decomposing goo from the bodies of the boring people of this city, the screams of a thousand dying babies, and the fresh blood of those that do not understand the joke. And if you mix in a little coconut cream …it will taste like pina colada." The Jester exploded in another hysterical laughter. "And if you think that I'm done with you or you with me…think again, li'l bro…"

Batman nodded silently and started to walk back to the security post. There was nothing else for him to do here. The man he met at the warehouse had decided to end his existence and let himself wrap in the Joker's madness. Insanity. That was all that was left in the Jester's mind now. It was Joker's safe haven from the world he couldn't deal with. The detective's mission here had ended, but should he still give up? It could have been him in that cell…Instead he was fighting things like the Joker, to give this city a breather from all the violence. He had never faltered nor failed in his mission until now. He had saved many before; why was it so difficult to save one more soul?


	50. Epilogue

_**Author's note**: Well, here it is. The last chapter of Path of the Jester. I wrote this last chapter first as a resolution to the story and set the conditions for a possible sequel and at the same time to have some fun witht he character of Joker which I love playing with. I admit it is a long chapter, sorry, but I hope that you'll still enjoy it. After all it was written with lots of love for the fans and this story that has followed me for over a year and a half. Now, without not much preamble, enjoy the last chapter of Path of the Jester. Reviews are welcomed. I would love to hear from you all, regarding your thoughts and ideas. Your imput is always appreciated and an honor to hear._

_DISCLAIMER 1: Batman and related Characters belong only to DC COMICS_

_DISCLAIMER 2: There might be some mature language used as well as some mature situations. Reader's are warned_

_BETA: Like always, one million thanks to the AMAZING KICHI without whose help, this story would have taken a lot longer. I owe you a lot, friend, this one's for you._

_PS: This chapter is dedicated to my oversea fans. Thanks for tuning in._

**Chapter 50: EPILOGUE**

Harley was woken up by the soft voice of Margaret calling at her from behind the acrylic. She turned over the bed to face her and noticed the smile on the officer's face. What could be so happy to make her smile…even here she always kept a façade of seriousness that sometimes was difficult to overlook. This must be something important.

"You need to get ready, Harley."

"Marge…if I'm to go to another session with Dr. Maratti I'm not interested."

"You don't have a session with Maratti. The hospital board wants to have a talk with you."

"The board?" Harley squeaked in surprise. Oh God, this was worse than she expected. They were probably going to charge her one hundred more years to her sentence for her escape…maybe even physical punishment. What would they do to her now? No, she didn't want to be part of that. She went back to bed and turned away from the door. "Tell 'em I'm sick…"

"Can't do, Harley. They want to start the meeting in fifteen minutes so don't make them wait. This could be your chance to complain about Maratti…maybe they can change your psychiatrist…"

Harley sat on her bed and looked at the correctional officer. She suddenly realized that she was right. If the board wanted her, the board will have her no matter what. Maybe if she whined long enough they will feel pity and get her off Maratti's list. The man was a horrible doctor and she didn't like his cheap cologne. She sat on the edge of the bed.

"OK…OK. Just give me a minute, will ya?"

Margaret came closer to the acrylic and looked around as if not wanted to be seen this close to the inmate. She closed on one of the door's breathing holes.

"I'm very proud of you. " Margaret whispered to the door.

"What?" Harley asked looking at the correction officer with some confusion sparkling in her eyes.

"What you did for those people…and the Commissioner. It was very brave." Margaret looked beside her when she heard footsteps. She backed off from the cell with a large smile on her face. "Have to go now. I will be back in five minutes, OK?"

Harley nodded without uttering a single word as Margaret walked towards the ward's security station. It had been the first time someone told her how proud of her they were. She never remember either Joker or her mother telling her that. Harley got up and looked at herself in the small mirror bolted to the wall. She let her hair down and grabbing a brush, she started to comb it in long rhythmic strokes. It was time to face her destiny, all by herself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Batman had arrived early to the Asylum. He wanted to make sure he was present for the board hearings for both Harley and Joker. Harley was having her hearing and the federal government wanted the immediate transfer of Joker to their custody in order to proceed with the federal charges he now faced after his last deadly spree. Batman knew he probably couldn't stop the transfer, but at least he could help proving how broken Joker's psyche really was. That might just work on his side and he knew exactly who to contact to help him with that task. Dr. Jeremiah Arkham.

Being the Joker's personal psychiatrist had allowed him to deal closely with the Clown's insane behavior and if he played his cards right, the doctor could help him. Of course helping the Jester was not in the doctor's agenda, but Batman made it very clear that if Joker was transferred away, Arkham would lose all the he had acquired. That meant no more book deals, awards, or TV appearances along with the cash flow that represented. It was too much to lose and Arkham knew what he had to do…keep Joker insane and make sure he alone was considered an indispensable part of the rehabilitation process…

It was close to nine o'clock when Joker arrived to the meeting room where twelve doctors had already settled down at a large desk. Many of them were enjoying a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa along with some biscuits. The Jester walked slowly, with a marked limp on his left leg, a painful remnant of his last escape. He was wearing the typical bright orange hospital jumpers and white rubber-soled shoes. His green curly hair was as wild as ever, with some of it falling over his forehead. On top of the jumper, a black harness restrained his arms close towards his body while his hands where chained with a double set of shackles each, attached to a chain that served as a belt.

They were not lowering their guard for the clown, especially knowing how resourceful the Joker could become with his escapes. The harness Joker was wearing had two chains attached to each side and each chain was held by a security officer. The officers made the Joker sit in the chair set for him the middle of the hearing and locked the chains to bolts on the floor. The Jester glared at the guards that stood at each side.

Each doctor greeted Joker in a polite manner, while the Clown stared silently at the dozen of specialists. Though he looked annoyed, the Joker was unusually calmed today. The carved smile was thin and small, and there was nothing in his green eyes but a sleepy haze. Could the Joker be sedated? The Clown had developed a high degree of tolerance to sedatives throughout the years, but maybe the hospital was able to make him sleepy enough today to keep him calmed. Could this be a tactic of the federals to give the appearance that a calmer Joker was a saner Joker? This could be one interesting hearing, and if the feds had arranged this, an uphill battle to demonstrate that the Clown was better at Arkham.

The psychiatrist rose from his chair and addressed the table of doctors with a polite bow.

"Good morning, dear colleagues. I am Doctor Jeremiah Arkham and the Joker has been one of my patients for the last six years. I'd like to be allowed the opportunity to open the round of questioning this morning." Arkham said staring at Joker who just yawned loudly. The board of doctors conferred briefly amongst themselves and finally gave a nod of approval to the psychiatrist to start the meeting. Arkham nodded politely and walked over to the Jester who seemed to be far away from the hearing, with his eyes half closed hardly focusing on anything. "How are you feeling today, Mr. Joker?"

The Clown Prince eyed the approaching doctor without much interest. He cocked his head sideways to attend to an itch on his right cheek then yawned again.

"I'm not talking until I get here…" Joker said with another noisy yawn. The doctors at the table started to murmur amongst themselves. Some of them laughed.

"…Until you get here? I don't seem to follow you."

"Why do you want to follow me…? Joker protested. "Do you know where I'm going? I don't think you do. And if neither of us know where we are heading, which means we're both lost. So unless you have a map back to the Emerald City, I suggest you back off, because I don't plan on moving from here until I know where I am heading at this precise moment and for that I need to meet with myself first so let me know when I get here, OK?"

"What I mean is…oh forget it." The doctor rubbed his pointy chin and sighed. Batman noted a hint of a smile on Dr. Arkham's face. "Do you have any idea where you are and why you have been summoned here?"

"Oh…I know. I'm in hell and you want to bore me through all eternity." Joker said following his words with another yawn. "You are so obsessed with me that it wasn't enough to have two sessions a week with the Clown. You have to sneak into hell and keep trying to probe my head again. Come 'ere Jeremy," the Joker demanded leaning forward when he was restrained by the two guards beside him."I just wanna return your favor and probe yours for a while, so you know how it feels. I'm sure there is a lot in there you don't need and I can have fun with."

"There is no need to keep this belligerent tone with the board, Mr. Joker. We only want to have a little chat with you, that's all." Arkham explained trying to sound amicable.

Joker reclined back into his chair calmly and the guard finally released the hold on him. "My bad, doc. Don't like strange people following me, when I can follow myself around just as well. My apologies to the board, but it's just that though it may look like I'm here, I'm really still on my bed…dreaming. Had a long busy night last night with all the preparations, see? When my mind wakes up in another half hour or so and meets me here…we can chit-chat all you want. Sorry, but I don't fetch anything before 10 am. Bye."

There was more murmuring from the doctors at the table. One or two of them even chuckled. Joker glared at them resentfully as Arkham interloped the Clown again.

"Sorry, Mr. Joker, I know it's kind of early, but we need to go on with the hearing. Maybe a little coffee will help?" The psychiatrist said taking a sip of his own cup of coffee.

"You know that coffee makes me jittery, doc. Tea usually does the trick, but today I'll have to pass…health concerns, you see?" Joker turned to the board of doctors. "All of you enjoying your tea back there? Good. I made it especially for you last night. My own secret tea recipe…or did I make the coffee?" The Jester leaned over until he almost touched his knees with his forehead. "Damn, I forgot…I knew I shouldn't have stayed up so late in the kitchen."

One of the psychiatrists looked at her cup when her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fell unconsciously to the floor. All the psychiatrists that had been drinking either coffee or tea spitted a mouthful of the elixir and backed off from their cups gagging and coughing. Two more doctors in the group fainted. Security officers picked up all the cups and saucers as well as tea pots and coffee pitchers and removed them from the room in a hurry. Joker busted in a frenzied laughter. The high pitched chortles made everybody's hair rise on end.

"I think…I think we need to make a recess" Dr. Arkham let out touching his middle section. He thought of the cup of coffee he drank that morning… was it his first or his second? "I recommend half an hour…just to…just to be safe."

"That is not going to be enough time…but heck what do I know? I'm just enjoying the show from here and half an hour is enough time to die." Joker spat between chortles.

"Take him…take him away to the holding cell." Dr. Arkham ordered when two of the board member left the room in a hurry. The psychiatrist grabbed his midsection again.

The room quickly emptied and the four guards in charge of Joker disengaged the chains and started to pull on him out of the room. The Jester, still giggling, turned around to look at the one way glass as if he knew that the Batman was standing behind it. The Detective wondered if the Clown Prince knew he was here…and if he could somehow see him though the glass. The Jester gave a polite bow to the glass, and started laughing again as he left the room.

'_Way to go Joker…you really know how to make a first impression," _Batman thought as he saw the Joker disappear out the door. The Detective saw Commissioner Gordon came walking aided by crutches down the hall to meet him.

"This is going to take a while." Gordon said scratching the nape of his neck "They are taking the beverages to the laboratory for analysis and all the psychiatrists have requested medical attention. Security is sure he didn't get out last night but they can't account for thirty minutes of video surveillance from his cell. I guess I'm lucky I didn't have any coffee yet… "

"With Joker's reputation I wouldn't play around." Batman responded. "It would not be his first mass poisoning."

"This is going to take a while. We can start with Harley's meeting upstairs…what you think?"

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Harley sat nervously behind a long desk. Her legs danced restlessly as she tried to find a comfortable position. The truth was that she was close to hysterical, not knowing what was going to happen, but imagining multiple scenarios in her mind that always ended in her with a few thousand years in prison and one thousand lashes of the whip…she was getting too far ahead of herself.

Beside her sat Margaret, the officer that had always been at her side, just to watch over her. On the left hand side Mary Ann Lowes, Harley's lawyer, was reading some notes before the meeting started. In front of them a group of five psychiatrists sat reading their notes. Lowes, noting Harley's agitation, put a hand over the lady Clown's shoulder to reassure her.

"Calm down, Harleen. Everything is going to be fine. I promise. Just be yourself."

"Why couldn't they just tell me they will increase my sentence another hundred years instead of having me go through this…?"

"Sentencing? Nobody is getting sentenced today, Ms. Quinn. Did anybody tell you what this is meeting for?"

Harley shook her head silently. Lowes was about to explain when Dr. Gallagher, the head of psychiatrists from the Asylum's board, demanded attention. The lawyer patted Harley on her shoulder and turned to the medical board.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, seat down. We are about to start. Is everybody here?" Dr. Gallagher initiated the meeting.

"Yes, the defense is here, Dr. Gallagher." Lowes responded at the same times Batman and Gordon entered the room. Harley was surprised to see both of them wanting to be part of this meeting. The Detective and Commissioner sat on the back of the room.

"Good, let's start then." Gallagher read the file in front of him for a moment then look at Harley attentively. She just lowered her gaze. "Good morning, Ms. Quinzel and please, let me start by apologizing. The board was supposed to have full representation in this hearing, but some of them are being treated by medical personnel after the poison tea incident this morning. In the meantime we are going to conduct this hearing with the minimal amount of psychiatrists required by law which is four. Let me introduce you to Dr. Hamilton, Figueroa, and Miles and also accompanying us today is Counselor Thomson."

Harley looked up at Dr. Gallagher, then to the small group of doctors that watched her

"Well, Ms. Quinzel, what do you think of what Joker just did to the board with the poisoned tea?" Gallagher asked grabbing a pencil firmly in his hand ready to make notes.

She smiled timidly, as she imagined the face of horror of the rest of the board when Joker announced he had poisoned the tea. Her puddin' seemed to have recovered his humor…"Kind of wild…but then he's always been like that. He loved to scare people to death, literally. Kill them for fun."

"And in your opinion, is that right or wrong?"

"What kind of hearing is this?" Harley inquired focusing on the table of specialists.

"Ms. Quinzel. This meeting has been called by Commissioner Gordon to analyze your behavior and see if you qualify for a reduction in sentence. It has come to our attention that you saved the Commissioner from the Joker, risking your own life, and that you challenged the madman in a roof top to protect an innocent family."

Harley was left with her mouth opened wide. This was definitely not what she was expecting. She scanned the room with her eyes until she found Gordon and the Batman on the back. The expression on the face of the Detective was stern and severe and like always she couldn't tell if he was happy, sad or just constipated, but she could notice a subtle smile on the Commissioner's face.

"Ms Quinzel?" Gallagher called to her. Harley looked back at the psychiatrist. "Well? Is the information we have true?"

"Uhmm...yeah?"

"Why did you do it…?"

"Because it was wrong…" Harley responded timidly. She wasn't too sure as to how Gordon wanted her to respond to that. Then she remembered Margaret's words _'I'm very proud of you…'_

"What was wrong…what you did was wrong?"

Harley shook her head. "No…what Jokie…hm, Joker did was wrong."

"In the past you have been cited as saying that the Joker was a funny clown even when he murdered someone. And you never said that that anything he did was wrong. Why the sudden change in mind, Ms. Quinzel?

"Because he was not Joker. Don't you see? The Joker is a Clown who finds humor in murder. What he was doing to Gordy…hmm…Gordon and that family was not funny. It was mean."

"What do you mean when you say he was not Joker?"

"He…he had…" Harley looked at Gordon again and saw him nod. Batman nodded at her again. This is what they wanted to hear. "He had somehow brought back a side of him that was sinister, darker, and meaner. He was just hurting people, not trying to be funny."

"So you're saying that hurting people is OK as long as it is funny?"

"No…Practical joking is fun…but when people start to suffer, it stops being funny."

"And…?"

"And it's wrong to make others suffer."

"So what Joker does…is right or wrong, Ms Quinzel...?"

Harley had to pause for a moment to catch her breath. Her heart was racing at the speed of sound and she felt her mind running as fast. The question was simple as what the answer, so why did she hesitate? She couldn't help thinking that she was somehow betraying the trust of the Joker by speaking in this hearing. _Tough luck, Harley,_ she thought to herself, _but this is your chance to be you, dear._

"Wrong." She answered simply lowering her gaze.

"You don't seem to be too convinced…"

"I can't…help to feel guilty. I once tried to make Joker understand the wrongdoing of his actions and instead I let myself being seduced by his charm. He was funny sometimes, but most of the time, he was just a meanie."

"So you agree that he had used you…?"

"You kiddin'? Joker uses everybody around him. You, me, them," Harley quipped motioning to the audience. "People are just toys he plays with and when he gets tired of the toy, he just destroys it. Some people are ok with being used…up to a point and because of…very…private reasons."

"But you once said you were in love with him. Was he really using you, or did you join him of your own accord?"

"That's…" Harley's eyes narrowed angrily and started to hyperventilate. Tears pooled under her eyes "…not open to discussion."

Lowes leaned over Harley. "Please, calm down…"

She looked at her lawyer with the same resentment she had stared at the board of specialists. "No! I'm not calming down. That I love him or not is not important to this hearing, is it?"

"It is important that we understand your emotions towards the Joker, Ms. Quinzel."

"Did Eva Braun love Hitler any less than a mistress loves her man? Does that change the fact that the guy was a sociopath and a murderer and does that make her a psycho too?" Harley held his hands to his mouth and sank deeper in her chair, overwhelmed by the outburst. Dr. Kratz was taken aback by the historical reference while members of the specialist panel started to comment amongst themselves. Harley on her part leaned over the desk and cradled her head between her hands. Her lawyer spoke softly to her ears and tears started to flow down her face. "Sorry…I don't know what came over me…I'm really, really sorry." She finally said apologetically after Lowes murmured something in the ear.

"It's alright, Ms Quinzel. You made a very valid point." Kratz ordered silence at the group of specialists. "But how do you feel for the Joker?"

"I…I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry that he has to be angry all the time. I'm sorry he does what he does. I would like to see him cured…I want him to be happy… I want 'im to understand…"

"Understand what? That you love him?" Dr. Gallagher asked leaning forward on the table to take a closer look. "Are you in love with him, Ms. Quinzel?"

"I…I guess I am."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was early afternoon when the psychiatrists had started to return to the hearing room where they were dealing with the Joker's case. Of the board of specialists assigned to the Jester two of the doctors had been rushed to the hospital with complaints of stomach ache and chest pains.

The whole investigation, had taken a little more than five hours to arrive to the conclusion that Joker was just bluffing that morning. No toxins were found in either the coffee or the tea. Apparently, the Jester had had the last laugh. They brought the Clown Prince forward again. The Jester was sporting a very large smug smile of self satisfaction in his face. Even in chains he looked intimidating.

Dr. Arkham took a bottle of water from a nearby cooler in the room and after opening it, he took a refreshing sip. _There is no way the Joker could've poison these, right?_ He thought as he noted that the Clown Prince was staring at the water bottle with great interest, almost as if he knew what the doctor was thinking. Arkham stopped drinking, put the cap back on, and set the bottle as far away from the Joker as he could. Those green eyes of the Clown seemed to want to pierce right through the psychiatrist.

"It's time to go on with this hearing." Arkham said advancing towards the smiling Clown. "We wasted precious time this morning…"

"Yes, mine. But I agree…the show must go on. So tell me Dr. A, have you always being this boring or is it the result of having being dropped as a baby…?" Joker said with a large joyful smile

"You seem very proud after all the chaos you produced this morning…"

"Oh yes…I have not laughed like that in a long time. You should have seen the color on your face after I said I had prepared the beverages…."

"What did you feel when you scared us half to death with the poisoned coffee and tea, Mr. Joker?"

"Amusement, and may I remind you that I never said poisoned? I just said I had prepared it. What if I had just added some hazelnut or cinnamon?" The Jester responded with a wide toothy grin.

"I doubt you would've just added hazelnut." Arkam said with a cynical smile. "Hmmm. Still you don't seem to be completely happy with the outcome. Am I right?"

"To be sincere, I would've enjoyed it more if I would've found some cyanide to actually put in the coffee, but for some strange reason this hospital keeps all its chemicals under lock and key. Next time I will bring my own…"

"I see…" Arkham brushed his brow nervously. He knew this was just not an insane ranting. When the Jester made a threat, he normally had to be taken seriously and Joker had probably tried to find a way to poison that tea, but just couldn't get his plan to completion. Playing with this Clown could be dangerously lethal.

"Now you can imagine that poisoned coffee would have been a riot, right? But NO…nobody died today and I'm still stuck with you. It's a sad day for comedy. Show's over, you leaving now?" The Jester said with a sneer.

"Hmmm, you don't sound too happy. When was the last time you recall being happy, Mr. Joker…?" Arkham continued digging deeper into Joker's emotions. The Jester pondered silently on the question and a sinister smile crossed his face.

"Who said I'm not happy? Can't you see the smile carved in my face? I'm in a permanent state of bliss."

Arkham paced calmly in front of the Jester. "I've always stated that your smile is not a reflection of what you feel inside, Joker. Instead, what you feel is totally opposite than what your face represents. But there have to have been a moment when you could say that you were really happy. Do you recall when that was?"

"I remember. I had just killed a young bird…that made me happy, but what really made my day was when I met the bird's daddy and he found out what I have done. Ohh, he was not happy and it makes me smile in my darkest day and my darkest…Knight." Joker let out looking at the one way glass to his right as he busted into a grave cackle. Behind the one way glass, the Dark Knight clenched his fists under his cape. "My greatest accomplishment and it wasn't even Robin season…"  
"I'm assuming you are referring to Batman's young partner." The Jester nodded silently. "So killing a boy made you happy…"

"Not just a boy…THAT BOY. You don't know how annoying the kid was, I really was making a service to humanity by getting rid of the little pest. It made everybody who had the misadventure of knowing him extremely happy when they heard the news of his demise. No whiney brat for the Dark Molester anymore." Joker leaned forward on his seat. "Do you know the joyful experience it is to inflict pain to the deepest core of a man that thinks he's impervious to the evil and corruption of this city? That is proof that everything follows a path that leads to our common end…entropy. He is not immune to chaos. He brings chaos along with him as I carry my shadow in a sunny day."

Arkham was taken aback by the statement, which was filled with a lot of acid resentment. "So you don't think you were doing anything wrong by killing a child."

"Not THAT child, believe me. And just for the record, I don't like killing children, because they don't understand what goes on. Adults on the other hand…can be tortured with a great delight. And they can scream louder than anything you can imagine if you do it right. It's like listening to a choir...in stereo surround sound. And if you're really good, you can make everybody scream in key. Then it's just a masterpiece of perfect pitch and harmony…like listening to Beethoven's Fifth…or Vivaldi's Sounds of Springs. You get me doc?"

Arkham made a note on his notebook and looked at the rest of the specialists in the room. They all were staring at the Jester with amazement. They couldn't believe the detachment with which he spoke about murder. The psychiatrist couldn't help but to smile.

"As you can see, gentlemen, the patient lacks the ability to discern right from wrong and has no feeling of remorse for his deeds. It is a clear case of sociopathic psychosis…with schizoid undertones that murder is a joke. Basically he lives the fantasy, that murder is somehow funny…"

"I beg to differ…" Joker interrupted Arkham in his dissertation while rattling on his chains. "And it is extremely rude to try to charge me with a psychosis when it is you and your staff who should be locked in a padded cell, instead of me."

"Excuse me?" Doctor Arkham said turning angrily to the Clown Prince.

"You heard me. You want to lock me out for being me. An original, slightly morbid comedian who gets his giggles from seeing people die. There is nothing wrong with seeing people die. People die every day and death…is always funny when it happens to you and not me. Now…who's fantasizing?"

"But you murder to obtain the same satisfaction, Mr. Joker. Don't you understand the difference?" One of the doctors in the board questioned the Clown.

"Murder is a form of dying, gentlemen. A means to an end. Why blame the comedian if he wants to get to the punch line before he finishes the joke."

"You think murder is a joke…"

"No, your lives are all a joke. Murder is the culmination of the joke. The final punch line to a totally senseless existence. Take for instance…rules. Your lives are so full of them that life loses its sense only to become a grocery list. Do this, do that, don't do that, don't do this. I don't live by any rules, because rules only turn you into a boring nincompoop. I'm more than the sum of my parts. Oh, and don't tell me you've never wanted to murder anybody or watched TV and asked yourself how could people that stupid are still staining our gene pool. You're just too scared to act upon your feelings. Not me. If I think you should die…you'll be dead before lunch.

"I kill the boring, stupid, and useless human beings that inhabit this city and turn them into a piece of art with a memorable demise. Their worthless lives become for one moment the glorification of the chaos we all live in. Because no matter how many rules you make or how many plans you try to make, on the end…none of it matters. All the corpses look and smell the same in the dark, gentlemen. You are deluding yourselves of the real sense of this existence…which is that nothing ever makes sense…except death, and that is hilarious. Only a madman would not see it that way…"

Arkham stared intensely at the Clown Prince of Crime, and then turned on his heels and walked towards his seat at the board table. "Gentlemen…I rest my case."

Dr. Edgar Folsom, who acted as moderator of the board, sifted though his large file and motioned to a slim, young spectacled doctor with a narrow hooked nose that walked over to meet the Jester. The psychiatrist wore nicely pressed white coat and smelled strongly of fresh aftershave lotion. He wondered if the guy bathed on the stuff as he wrinkled his nose.

"Good morning, signore Joker." The doctor said politely in a thick Italian accent as he pulled a pen from his suit. "I am Dr. Francetti and would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind?"

"_Ah_. _Buongiorno, come sta dottore?_ (Good morning, how are you doctor?)

Dr. Francetti arranged his glasses as he looked at the Joker. He immediately started to sift through his notes. There was nothing in the Jester's file that said he could speak more than one language.

"_Inespettato…parli Italiano signore Joker?_ (It's unexpected….Do you speak Italian, Mr. Joker?)

"_Sorpresa! Puoi scomneterci…(_Surprise! You can bet on it…) It's the beautiful language of Micheangelo, DaVinci, Al Capone, Gotti, and the Godfather." The Jester sighed. "So many beautiful ways to say…murder."

"Okay," Francetti said adjusting his glasses. "But let's stay in the English language. I'm sure the rest of the board would like to join in our conversation."

"You look like a guy who could take a joke…would you like to hear a joke?"

"We have an agenda to follow…"

"There you go again…rules. One quick joke, just to brighten the day…please?" The Joker pleaded with an almost childish insistence. Francetti motioned to the Jester to go on with the joke. The Clown Prince giggled softly and cleared his throat. 'A man in a restaurant asks a waiter: "How do you prepare your chicken?' The waiter replies, 'Nothing special, we just straight-up tell 'em they're going to die.'"

Nobody in the room laughed, but Joker was trying very hard not to burst into laughter. Francetti looked at the Joker not knowing how to react. "I don't see the humor in that joke…"

"You do if you think this is the restaurant, I'm the waiter and you are the chicken. And you are going to die…you'll see." Joker started to laugh loudly.

"ENOUGH!" Folsom yelled from his seat. "I'm not going to tolerate you threatening the staff, Mr. Joker."

"Zut alors! I 'ave miss one." The Clown Prince quipped in a fake French accent while staring at Folsom. "Heeere chickin', chickin', chickin'. I'll kill you too after I'm done with the Chicken Alfredo here…"

"I SAID ENOUGH!!" Folsom rose angrily from his chair.

"It's a matter of point of view, really. Life would be a lot easier if you just saw things from my point of view. Then you will understand why it is that you all have to die…"

"Let's change the subject, eh?" Dr. Francetti said waving to the Jester to get his attention.

"Chicken…."The Clown responded with a cackle.

Francetti cleared his throat "Do you have a name, Signore Joker…?"

"What kind of question is that? In case you have not noticed, you're calling me by my name, _dottore…"_

"A name OTHER than Joker…"

The Jester thought deeply for a moment. "It depends on who you talk to and the day of the week you ask. I call myself a lot of things to keep life interesting, but some of my enemies can get pretty fancy with those."

"Does the name Jack sound familiar?"

"No…but Larry Wilde is. I remember him well…Very intelligent lawyer graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University. Top of his class…"

"Signore Joker, this…Larry Wilde was not a real person. It was someone you impersonated to get access to the Asylum…"

"You sure…? I'd swear it was someone I met…and killed." Joker shrugged. "Oh well…"

"I have reports of you calling yourself Jack and taking about a dead wife and kid…" Joker remained silent staring at Francetti with some hatred. "Do you remember ever being married…?

"Today is Thursday," The Jester said when his frown quickly changed to a smile. "Ask me on Tuesdays…."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Francetti said eyeing the Jester from above his glasses.

"That is the day of the week I like to be the man who lost his family and couldn't take it anymore. But if you ask me today, I will tell you that I feel like the Clown who lost his call in the Ringling Brothers… This is my happy Clown day, and the reason you still breathe when I make a joke. On the weekends…I'm open to psychoses so I just improvise. It all depends on the mood, really…"

"You realize how irrational is what you're saying, eh Mr. Joker?

"Irrational…? Just because I prefer a life with multiple choices doesn't mean I'm irrational, though I have to admit that I'm a little unconventional…a genius of sorts. You're just jealous. Wouldn't you wish you could be someone else every day of the week…?

"Joker, you are who you are every day of your life…there is no multiple choices. You can't just change the way you perceive yourself every day of the week."

"Yes I can. I'm the living proof of it. I was someone else once, then took a swim in your local vat of chemicals and _voila_…Instant Joker. And the guy I was supposed to be…not even in the obituaries. See? It…keeps my life interesting. Why would I want to be so narrow minded and just be the same boring guy every day, like you? That's crazy. You sure you're locking away the right lunatic?"

Francetti jotted some notes on his small notebook and continued his interrogatory. Every question received and even weirder response. Not straight answer, just an insane rant and an illogical analysis of what was being asked. After thirty minutes, Francetti realized he was not getting anywhere and finished his turn. Another doctor took his place. The man was short and his belly bulged over a pair of brown pants. He wore a small green sleeveless sweater over a cream colored shirt with colorful stripes. His head was a wild mess of peppered curls and under his chin, a timid green bowtie with yellow polka-dots completed the strange apparel. Joker stared at the doctor with bright green eyes and laughed.

"What is so funny?" asked the doctor who was obviously at a loss.

"You and I must go to the same tailor…but unlike you, I make green look good." The Jester answered with a cackle.

The doctor ignored the comment and started to question the Jester about the people who had inspired him the most. The list started with Jack the Ripper and ended with Charles Manson, with Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry and Little Lulu scattered somewhere in the middle. The doctor proceeded to ask him about his relationship with his father. Joker for the first time frowned as if he despised the subject altogether. His eyes glowed with a wild green fire that threatened to consume everything. Then as suddenly as the anger was there, Joker smile wide and complacently and his eyes glinted of joy.

"Why don't you ask him?" The Clown Prince finally said.

"Is your father still live? Where is he now…?" The doctor asked with great interest. Even Dr. Arkham was extremely intrigued by the revelation, which he had never been able to obtain in his sessions.

The Jester jerked his head towards the one way glass in the right side of room. "He's right over there, hiding from the light. You'll recognize him by the dark cape and the pointy ears."

Everybody stopped what they were doing to look and listen to the Joker. "You mean to tell me that the Batman is your father?"

The Jester nodded. "He is the reason I exist and he has given me more attention than my father ever did, so yeah, I'm saying just that. He just never signed the papers so he wouldn't pay the child support," Joker laughed heartedly. "He is indeed the father of chaos and I hate to brag but I think I'm definitely his favorite son…right daddy?" Joker said the last words so loud to make sure he was heard over the low rumble that had started in the room.

"Just curious…if you say the Batman is your father…who would you say is your mother?"

"A hot vat of chemicals. Not much of a chatter herself but she had a very bubbly personality. I get my murderous humor from her. Nothing better than to meet death face to face to see the beauty in her face. Then is just like an addiction to reproduce such a beautiful face…"

A fourth doctor started his turn as he took out a series of Rorschach cards and asked the Jester what he saw. The first inkblot took a few seconds for the Joker to analyze from every angle.

"A bat." The Clown Prince finally said. The doctor continued presenting the ink-blotted cards to the Jester obtaining the same answer. After the tenth card, the doctor stopped the test.

"You seem to have an obsession with bats, Mr. Joker."

"Everybody here thinks I'm batty…what did you expect me to see?" Joker quipped laughing hysterically.

Bruce observed attentively, from behind the glass, every word that the Joker was saying and his body language that confirmed how disturbed the Jester really was. In his little mind, fact and fiction collided to produce an explosion of chaos and confusion that was starting to make the specialists uneasy. Jack had turned to Joker to take his pain away, and the Clown had taken the tortured man into the farthest reaches of his madness. A place where he knew Jack would not be able to escape again. The man that Joker had been was no longer in sight and the Clown had turned this hearings into a circus where he was having the best, most twisted laughs at the doctor's expense.

Two more days of interrogatory followed the first with the same pattern repeating itself. More tests were performed on the Jester…some of them revealing an extraordinary intellectual potential, but many others confirmed how impaired was his ability to distinguish between real and unreal, between good and evil. For Joker it was OK to kill what was not funny, because that was a service to society, and he couldn't understand why being a bore was not a crime punishable with death.

The three days of interrogatory were completed when the entire board of specialists got away to deliberate on their decision if the Joker was sane enough to be held responsible of his actions or not, Bruce didn't need much effort to guess the decision of the panel. Batman thought he would be helping the Joker go through the investigation to avoid falling into the claws of the Federal government, but the Joker was doing a great job by himself. The only question that remained to be answered was what the government would do with a certified lunatic.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It had been two days since the hearings when Gordon finally called him back into the station. That night the Bat signal glowed brightly in the night sky and it wasn't long before the Batman landed on the rooftop of the Police department. The roof was empty except for Gordon that sat calmly on a chair, lighting a cigarette. Beside him, his crutches rested against the brick ledge of the building.

"Came as soon as I saw the signal." Batman said trying to break the silence. "I'm guessing the boards of specialists finally decided?"

"Yeah," the Commissioner said massaging his moustache."And guess what? We get to keep the Clown."

"I imagined that after the Joker's erratic behavior during the hearings, the government will be reluctant to take custody. The Feds are not ready to deal with someone like Joker."

"No, they don't want to touch him even with ten feet pole. And that makes you very happy, I bet." Gordon let out with marked resentment.

"Jim…Joker is insane. Joker was doing a great job showing off his psychoses… without help from me."

"You didn't want him to go with the federals…"

"Because the federals were not interested in giving Joker what he needed. They wanted to dispose of Joker, like they have with any other terrorist, not lock him on another psychiatric institution to get help."

"It's not like he doesn't deserve it, you know?"

"But it would not be justice. He can't help who he is…he's crazy."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gordon responded grabbing his crutches and with some effort standing up to walk up and turn off the reflector. "I was just hoping that for once I will be able to wake up in the morning and not have to call the Asylum to make sure that he was still there. I do that almost every day. The last spree was very large…and I can't believe he is not going to pay for any of those lives…"

"He is paying on a very private way. He's living in torment inside his mind, a personal hell. Living like that is not a life."

"Not enough in my book, but the federals want to make sure he stays in the asylum this time. They're assigning almost fifty million dollars to increase security around Joker and the rest of the hospital. They want twenty-four hour surveillance on the Clown and weekly report in his activities. The Governor even wants to have another ring of security just by the Joker's cell."

"That is…surprising." Batman said gloomily. "The Governor normally acts as if the Joker doesn't exist."

"Well, this time he is doing something and Mayor Stratton is supporting the security measures. He's going to personally enforce them. I guess we have to thank it's an election year."

"Maybe it will be a little more difficult for Joker to get out this time..."

"I'm hoping, but that is just wishful thinking…the clown will remain a thorn in our side. At least we seem close to Garibaldi and without Joker around him, he can't be that hard to get."

"What about Harley…?"

"They are going to give her sixty days to run several tests and go through some psychological evaluation and counseling. After that, the board will decide, but she made a very good impression on the board at the hearing, especially when she was able to speak of her feelings for him in a detached way. Maybe she is not lost…"

"Thanks…"

Gordon took a puff of his cigarette. "For what?"

"For giving her a chance."

"Look, I don't want to look like the bad guy here, but you know she had gotten herself in deep trouble because of the Clown. I just have to accept that sometime, people…can change, while others will stay the same."

"Like Joker…"

"Yeah, like Joker, Cobblepot, Dent, Nigma and a lot others." The Commissioner flicked the ash from his smoke as he stood with some effort aided by his crutches. "But as long as I have an ounce of life in me...this city is going to be safe. That is the promise I made when I became its Commissioner and I intend to keep it."

"And you can count on us to be beside you…even when the fight gets tough."

Gordon flicked the smoke away and stepped on it as he eyed the Detective with a smile. "That was not in doubt even for a second. You're one of the good guys. Now. Don't you have a city to patrol?"

Batman nodded and retrieved the grapple from his utility belt. He walked to the ledge and fired the hook that embedded solidly in a nearby building. The detective tested the strength of the cable until he was satisfied it will support his weight.

"Take care Jim." The Knight said jumping into the night.

Gordon steadied himself on his crutches and started to make his way back into the building. "You too, my friend."

**FIN**

* * *

_Hold on...Blip still at large? That could not be good, right? Maybe he's up to something nasty. After all, he and Joker were always very close that Garibaldi could be as dangerous as the Clown. What happened next is considered in a pseudo sequel to this. I say it's a pseuso-sequel because though it starts where this one ended, the plot is different, and the story is a lot faster and much more complicated. While Jester was my first try at writing, I have learned a lot in a year and a half about the craft and the continuation of this story is a promise of more action, more mystery, more characters and more mature writing. Please let me know if you would like to know what happened after Jester. It will be a pleasure to share it with you all. We'll this one has been a fun trip, thanks for joining me in this ride. Lots of love....Jokerlady._


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